'We have more shelters ready to be assembled': Halifax Mutual Aid says it will build more homeless structures

Who's next to be targeted by city? Other people without a home who are living on public property in Halifax wonder if they're next. Sarah Plowman reports.

HALIFAX — The advocacy group behind tiny homeless shelters that were the subject of clashes between protesters and Halifax police on Wednesday says they will continue to build more shelters until a long-term solution is in place.

"We have more shelters ready to be assembled," said Ardath Whynacht, a professor in the sociology department at Mount Allison University and Halifax Mutual Aid volunteer.

"Until such time that a housing-first strategy is adopted and safe options are provided for all of our neighbours and all Nova Scotians who have been marginalized by the housing crisis, we're going to keep building them and going to keep looking for solutions to keep them safe."

The scene outside the old Halifax Central Library was chaotic on Wednesday, when Halifax police and protestors fought over the removal of temporary emergency shelters and tents on public properties.

There were arrests, people were sprayed with chemical irritants and in the end, the shelters were removed from the site, as well as other locations around the city.

The tents and structures are illegal under a Halifax bylaw which prohibits creating temporary or permanent accommodations on municipal land.

Whynacht said Mutual Aid was caught off guard by the situation since Halifax Mayor Mike Savage had said earlier the summer that residents would not be forcibly evicted.

"We do feel they tried to stage the evictions during election time, hoping that it wouldn't be much of a media story," she said.

Officials say services were being offered to people living in temporary shelters, but Whynacht said "that's simply not true."

"If residents had somewhere safe to go, they wouldn't need to live in a shed on public land," she said.

According to Whynacht, the situation is dire.

"We do believe this is a life and death crisis that needs attention, because the housing crisis is not going to be solved overnight and we're not seeing strong solutions with a housing-first approach that are going to help unhoused people get into safe residences."

Savage said there were safety concerns at the shelters with fires being set and illegal activity. He said the city had to take it seriously.

But Whynacht said the "rumours have been overblown."

Savage said police were doing their best to de-escalate the situation at the old central library site.

"Nobody is being arrested for being homeless. That's not what we want to do." Savage said in an interview with CTV Atlantic. "We have treated people humanely and with dignity for a number of months in many cases, to see if we can provide an option that makes sense for them, that's what we're trying to do."

Savage said similar removal operations at three other city locations proceeded without incident earlier in the day. He said the city had taken a gradual approach to the library protest, and had given notice of its intent nearly two months ago when it said it wanted the property cleared.

Police say the efforts to remove the temporary shelters came after “many weeks and months included ongoing offers of support and services by municipal staff, posting signage in municipal parks and visits to sites, advising tent occupants both verbally, and most recently through written notices, to vacate and remove all belongings from municipal property.”

“We have an obligation to protect public safety, as well as the safety of those living in these encampments. Over the last several months, there has been a progressive increase in calls for service and complaints related to these encampment sites and surrounding areas,” said HRP Chief Dan Kinsella in a news release.

“Our approach always starts with engagement, and we continue to work with the municipality, service providers and community partners on ways to best support people experiencing homelessness,” continued the police chief.

Whynacht said residents who were evicted from the tiny shelters will be forced to set up tents outside the public eye.

"We know that unhoused people face high risks for violence," Whynacht said.

According to Whynacht, there's been a lot of "passing the buck" and democratic excuses on whether the housing crisis is a municipal or provincial issue.

"The truth is, we know - evidence has shown, and research has shown - that a housing-first policy works for a whole range of other issues that cost governments a lot of money," Whynacht said, noting costs for addictions, mental health and job retraining.

"We know housing people is the first step to delivering any other social service. This has been proven across countries, it has been adopted at the federal level."

Mutual Aid wants to see the city and province back off and allow residents to live safely on municipal lands, until a safe housing strategy is developed.

"Because one or two nights stay at a hotel and back on the street, that's not safe housing, that's not secure housing," Whynacht said.

EVICTIONS COULD HAVE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

Dalhousie Legal Aid said the evictions also raise “very serious constitutional issues”, including the right to non-discrimination for persons with disabilities.

The group quoted statistics from the Mental Health Commission of Canada, which estimates that up to half of the 150,000 to 300,000 Canadians experiencing homelessness have serious mental health problems.

"By evicting and ticketing those who have nowhere else to go, the HRM is criminalizing some of the most vulnerable people in our society," reads a news release.

Legal Aid says homelessness costs Canada $1.4 billion per year in emergency services, shelters, and criminal justice expenses.

"It does not make moral or economic sense for the city to play a game of whack-a-mole with homeless encampments. It is already well-established that the best way to both reduce the financial cost of homelessness and to treat mental health conditions is to take a housing-first approach to homelessness."