Create Affordable Housing - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Speaker, the people I speak with - individuals, seniors, and families searching desperately for housing - are not saying that. They are wondering why the Premier is allowing vacant lots in the HRM - like the old Bloomfield and St. Patrick's-Alexandra school sites - to sit empty for years, and sometimes decades.
Experts say that we will have a shortage of 33,000 affordable housing units by 2030. That's 33,000 affordable - affordable - housing units. Speeding up permitting isn't going to help if developers don't build.
Does the Premier think it's acceptable that vacant lots in the middle of our largest city sit empty while families search for a place to live? If he doesn't, what is he going to do about it?
THE PREMIER « » : As the Premier of the province, I don't have the luxury of picking a position one day and a different position the next day. Every single day, we get up as a government and we do good things for Nova Scotia. We do what we think is right. Just yesterday, that member stood in the media and said that the provincial government is really budging their way into HRM. Today, the member is encouraging me to go a little bit further. Speaker, we are focused on housing for Nova Scotians. We will continue to be the party of action. We will continue to be the party that gets things done for Nova Scotia. We won't flip-flop in the wind depending on what we think might sell in the media that day.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Unlike the Premier, we are in dialogue with our municipal units, and we understand what they want. One of the things they want is permissive legislation developed in concert with their provincial partners. This is one of those pieces of permissive legislation.
Speaker, anyone searching for an apartment right now will tell you the only lease available to sign is a one-year, fixed-term lease. The inevitable result after a year is up is a rent hike or an eviction. You can't keep rents reasonable or protect people's homes with this kind of constant churn. Does the Premier think people should be forced out of their homes because their fixed-term lease is up?
THE PREMIER « » : We're concerned about this situation in housing. That concern is why we're acting so quickly on so many things. That concern is why we table a piece of legislation that involves the HRM in speeding things up to get housing built. That concern is why we've made over $300 million in investments this year to try to make sure there's housing available to Nova Scotians. We are moving forward, and I ask the honourable member to please support the actions that will lead to more housing. They will absolutely lead to more housing in this province. The solution to the housing crisis is more housing, and we are focused on that.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : The legislation that we propose is enabling. The legislation that this government continues to pass is a direct incursion, in the words of the Mayor of HRM. Speaker, the one thing this government doesn't seem to consider, when they don't answer questions about things like fixed-term leases and taxing vacant land, is the impact this has on families. Across the province, vacancy rates for two- and three-bedroom units are much lower than other types of units and are getting tighter and tighter. Rents are rising faster and faster. What is the Premier's plan to make sure families can stay in their homes as Winter is coming?
THE PREMIER « » : We're concerned about the housing situation in the province. I'll just reiterate, that's why we're seeing so much action. The questions around fixed-term leases have been answered by my colleague many times. The Opposition might not like the answers, but they're the answers, they're the position. We'll move forward on building more housing stock to make sure there's housing available. We'll move forward with protecting tenants. We'll move forward on just moving opportunities for people to have a place to live, and we'll work with the municipalities. I'm very proud of the work the minister has done with the municipalities right now renegotiating an MOU that hadn't been changed in 25 years.
We are working with the municipalities. The municipalities know it. I'll tell you what won't happen, Speaker, is we won't slow down. We will put Nova Scotians first, and we will move quickly on these files.