Halifax council to discuss homelessness MOUs, extending Dartmouth emergency shelter

Halifax Regional Municipal councillors will be discussing this week whether to move ahead with negotiating Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to address homelessness and housing.

Halifax Regional Municipal councillors will be discussing this week whether to move ahead with negotiating Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to address homelessness and housing.

A staff report being presented to council on Tuesday takes a look at how other municipalities have used MOUs to address the housing crisis. Examples included Victoria, Vancouver, Guelph, Ont., and Surrey, B.C.

The report points out that while MOUs are “generally, non-binding” and may not give the municipality any legal recourse, they can “help to structure and strengthen partnerships.”

MOUs lay out in written form aspects of collaboration: length of the partnership, desired goals, how to evaluate performance and any risks or financial obligations.

The MOUs could cover emergency shelter operations, housing construction, or land development. Typically, the MOUs would involve the municipality, the province, non-profits and private-sector developers.

“Given the complexity of the housing crisis, staff recommend that HRM not restrict itself to a bilateral (provincial-municipal) agreement. Multilateral, private-public MOUs should be explored,” the report says.

The report further says that across the country, “MOUs have helped to both attract and direct public-private resources to house the unhoused.”

In May 2022, while discussing a proposal for designated tent sites for people experiencing homelessness, council directed the CAO to provide this staff report on negotiating an MOU with the province.