Temporary housing for homeless people at Shannon Park? Ottawa says it will pitch in
CBC
Ottawa is calling for a 34-hectare parcel of federal land sitting vacant in Dartmouth, N.S., to be used for temporary modular housing as the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise.
The Halifax Regional Municipality approved a permanent housing development last year in Shannon Park, but construction has yet to begin on that project. Ottawa says the property could serve a different purpose in the meantime.
The land, at the foot of the MacKay Bridge in Dartmouth, used to be home to a military community that was demolished in 2017. It has gone largely unused since then.
This week's federal budget earmarked $4 million over two years for four modular housing projects, including one at Shannon Park. The others are in Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. It's not clear how that money would be divided between the sites or what exactly it would pay for.
The federal government deferred to Canada Lands Company on questions about the project. The Crown corporation is in charge of Shannon Park and is meant to support modular housing at the site.
A spokesperson for Canada Lands said Shannon Park would be made available "at nominal cost" to either the city, the province, both, or another housing provider. It would be up to the provider to build and manage the temporary housing.
"We've been in discussions with HRM and the province for some time about implementing a temporary housing program at Shannon Park before we begin our full development of the site," said Manon Lapensee.
Full development of the site is projected to begin at the end of 2025 or the start of 2026, Lapensee said, adding it will happen in phases, allowing for temporary modular housing to stay in place for two years.
She said Canada Lands is waiting to hear whether either level of government is interested in taking up the offer.
The province seemed to have been caught off guard by Tuesday's budget announcement.
"Honestly we've not received any information or documentation on that," said Housing Minister John Lohr.
Lohr told reporters that although it was a surprise, he's pleased the federal government is looking at land it could contribute for housing.
Last year, the provincial government bought 200 modular housing units from an American company called Pallet, and many of those units have yet to be installed for want of a suitable site and service providers to manage them.
Community Services Minister Brendan Maguire said Shannon Park is on his radar as a possible location for Pallet homes, but so are many other locations.
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