Reducing Homelessness in Nova Scotia - Short Version - 1080p
Channel: babs
Date: 2022-11-19

The average price per acre of farmland and buildings in Nova Scotia is $2566 as of 2021 with the highest average price of a house being $393,461 in the HRM and the lowest average price being $187,105 in Cape Breton. The cost of purchasing a home in Nova Scotia has risen by almost 13% per year since 2019. There are many factors in why people end up homeless whether it is due to illness, disability, unemployment, abuse, or a lack of affordable housing, but we as a community can take action to help reduce the rate of homelessness.
 
Nova Scotia has been experiencing a meteoric rise in rental and purchase costs for housing that its citizens cannot handle. While it may be easy for western Canadians or foreign buyers to move to Nova Scotia due to our cost-of-living, it is not the same for native Nova Scotians. Our local job opportunities and incomes aren’t enough to meet the rising costs despite not being as high as other places in Canada or North America. This is where we must take action to lower the cost of living for all Nova Scotians and install safety nets for those who are falling behind.

While we already have tenancy boards and protections in place, they are lackluster and leave too much power in the hands of property owners and investors. Housing should not be treated as an asset but rather as a necessity. Without first meeting the basic needs of food and shelter, our people are not able to excel in their communities and beyond. That’s why I propose that the Government of Nova Scotia institute rental cost protections and housing price protections through the establishment of a Provincial regulating body that would evaluate, review, and adjudicate all rental pricing schemes in the Province. 

Evaluate: agents would go to locations and review units or properties. 
Each unit/property receives a grade on quality, location, necessity, etc.
Grades determine the maximum allowable price of the property/unit

Review: agents would review all requests to raise rental prices or sell houses
Using the grade of the property to determine fair market value
Determine whether a property is a necessity or a luxury
Determine if the grade of a property should be updated
Urban areas have higher number of necessity graded properties

Adjudicate: agents would approve or deny requests to increase prices
Based on information from the evaluation and review processes
Whether changes will force people to move out or become homeless
Whether pricing is affordable based on the immediate job market area

This is a rough concept, but it reflects a need for the province to enact more control over the pricing of homes in Nova Scotia and protect people first over profits. Everyone deserves the privacy and warmth of their own home. Our current ideals around home ownership and land-leasing is unsustainable and goes against the fundamental pillars off a social society like Canada. We must ensure that every person has a place to stay and be safe. It sounds silly and naïve, but it really is this simple: to end homelessness you must simply give everyone a home to live in. If you can’t do that, then you must institute more protections for those at risk of going homeless such as by limiting the rental prices and housing costs.

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/QyI-q_Xrv9Q (FULL) 

References

Atlanta Mission. (2022). 7 Major Causes of Homelessness. Retrieved 11 18, 2022, from Atlanta Mission: https://atlantamission.org/7-major-causes-homelessness/

Davies, A. (2022, 08 10). The Cost of Living in Nova Scotia for 2022. Retrieved 11 18, 2022, from Made in CA: https://madeinca.ca/cost-of-living-in-nova-scotia/

Rennie, L. (2021, 07 31). Average Home Prices in Nova Scotia 2021. (C. Wood, Editor) Retrieved 11 18, 2022, from Loans Canada: https://loanscanada.ca/mortgage/average-home-prices-in-nova-scotia/

Shahbandeh, M. (2022, 06 20). Farmland & buildings value Nova Scotia 2021. Retrieved 11 18, 2022, from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/485326/value-per-acre-of-farmland-and-buildings-nova-scotia/

Additional Resources:

Nova Scotia from Space: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2007/11/Envisat_captures_the_Canadian_province_of_Nova_Scotia
House Clipart: https://clipground.com/a-little-house-clipart.html

Additional Graphs: https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report

New immigrants in Canada are earning more money: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/work/new-immigrants-in-canada-are-earning-more-money-heres-who-makes-the-most/articleshow/88706008.cms?from=mdr

Foreign buyers: https://www.fivewalls.com/articles/impact-of-foreign-buyers-and-immigration-in-canadas-real-estate-market

Housing Crisis CTV: https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/we-re-several-years-deep-in-a-housing-crisis-housing-rent-control-a-nova-scotia-election-issue-1.5516637
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