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It's still early in the year and after watching US politics for the past few weeks I, along with many of you, have been reflecting on democracy. The next few weeks and months will bring Nova Scotia a new Premier, a return to the Legislature (scheduled for February 16th, 2021 but could be any time this spring), and a possible election. We’ll all be watching to see how our democracy is holding up.
One key action that is needed concerns Bill 225. This Bill, passed in March 2020 modernizes the Elections Act, and includes provisions around e-voting and reimbursing expenses incurred for disability and childcare expenses—a simple, structural change that would be so helpful in increasing the diversity of elected representatives. For some reason, the government has chosen not to proclaim it and Bill 225 has not yet become law. This means that Elections Nova Scotia is unable to prepare for a provincial election with modern and equitable upgrades. We are calling on the Province to proclaim this Bill as soon as possible.
Infrastructure spending
In other legislative news, when COVID-19 hit in March we spent the lion’s share of $228 million stimulus money on roads, on top of the biggest infrastructure budget in ages. Last week, the Province announced that this would continue to be a focus with over half a billion dollars budgeted.
If infrastructure is the focus of our recovery, in addition to hospitals we should invest in climate jobs, retrofit apartments and homes and office buildings, finally conduct Sustainable Development Goals Act consultations and set new climate targets, and spend the millions in the green jobs fund just to start.
In the context of this proposed spending, it’s also worth noting that we have not seen Provincial action on paid sick leave, added support for small business, smaller class sizes, ventilation, increased access to affordable childcare, or investments in affordable housing, all of which are desperately required and would pay dividends down the road. There is no shortage of investments that would save money long term, put people to work (and keep them in their jobs) and address the climate crisis. I continue to press the Province to put these massive investments through an environmental and gendered lens, and sadly they seem to keep coming up short.
Homelessness in Dartmouth
Today there was a protest planned by Mutual Aid Halifax in Leighton Dillman Park to bring attention to the issue of homelessness in the HRM. You'll likely be aware that Paul, a housing-insecure man in Dartmouth, was provided shelter by this group. In response to complaints about the shelter Councillor Sam Austin clarified that the city would not require Paul to move nor remove the structure. There is ongoing confusion about these shelters but the HRM policy is person-based, not structure-based, and there is some concern that empty structures have been placed on land where no one is sleeping, rather than being delivered to people sleeping rough, as with Paul.
We continue to monitor this situation from our office. The reality is that this is a desperate and sadly needed bandaid to a structural issue: the Province has abdicated its role in the provision of housing. There has been little to no investment in public housing in decades, recent investments in affordable housing organizations have almost all gone to deferred maintenance or navigators, not to the creation of new transitional and permanent spaces for people to live in dignity. The $8.6 million in federal money which flowed through HRM is a good first step but there is so much more needed.
Gathering limits
We heard from a number of community groups and organizations such as AA and NA who have been unable to support the regular number of clients throughout COVID-19. Susan Leblanc and I have both been in conversation with Dr. Strang and public health and were very pleased to hear that effective today, Monday, January 25th, mental health and addictions support group organizations may hold support group meetings up to a maximum of 25 persons while adhering to physical distancing requirements of two metres (six feet). This is an important step towards ensuring those most at risk are supported during these challenging times.
Joe Howe Park
We have received a number of complaints about protesters in Joe Howe Park across from the Alderney Gate Library. While expressing views is not an avenue to evict people from public property, bylaws around noise are. Please call 311 if the noise is causing issues in going about your daily life while at home or work.
Organ Donations
The Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act came into effect on January 18th of this year. This means that all eligible Nova Scotians will be considered for organ and tissue donation at their time of death. You may opt-out of tissue and organ donation online.
Break-ins
Unfortunately, car break-ins are an increasingly regular occurrence in Dartmouth South and we've had a lot of them recently. Luckily, the break-ins don't tend to result in damage as perpetrators look for unlocked vehicles. The best way to protect your property is to always lock your car and not leave valuable items in it overnight. If your car has a fob, it may unlock automatically if the key is too close to where you park, so try to store car keys at a distance and double-check your cars and home before you go to bed. We’ve had very few reports of damage of any kind so these simple steps should go a long way.
As always, if you’d like to discuss any of this, or if you need help, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at ClaudiaChenderMLA@gmail.com or (902) 406-2301.
Kind regards,
Claudia
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