Ocean Breeze Residents Association
Statement for the Consideration of Candidates for Municipal Office,
September 2024
Ocean Breeze is a community of 1200 residents that is today facing the threat of demo-viction as our long standing community of affordable homes faces imminent demolition. Our homes will be replaced with high-end condos that will be priced far out of reach of the current residents.
In today’s housing market, we, the residents of Ocean Breeze, including families with dependent children and seniors, now face a highly uncertain future. For many of us, the spectre of homelessness looms large. And the stress and anxiety is unbearable.
Nova Scotia should – and can do better! As so should HRM!
To that end, we have drafted the following statement for the consideration of political candidates who seek our votes in the upcoming municipal elections. We understand that addressing these issues must of necessity engage provincial and federal governments, as well. But we believe that our local Mayor and Councillors, – as the elected representatives closest to the people, should be champions and allies of our community.
Most fundamentally, we believe that all levels of government need to affirm in principle that housing is a basic human right. This means that ALL people are entitled to live in dignity in a safe and secure home. And that government actions, policies and programs must strive to ensure that everyone can access housing that meets their needs without discrimination or harassment. This is NOT the situation today in Nova Scotia, and it is certainly NOT the reality here in Ocean Breeze.
Secondly, we believe that governments must pro-actively ensure that at a very minimum, in this time of crisis in the housing sector, the current pool of affordable housing must NOT be diminished. Simply stated, there is not enough affordable housing on the market today, – the deficit number of affordable units is overwhelming, when compared to the actual need. Any actions that seek to eliminate currently affordable housing (whether that is through demolition, renovation or simple “up-pricing” of units) should be blocked until such time as those residents facing loss of shelter can be re-located to other affordable homes.
Thirdly, the rights of tenants must be enhanced in the current market, with the requisite legal and regulatory commitment to block displacements through rent control, put an end to the well-documented manipulative use of fixed-term leases, and ensuring quality maintenance of units through a fully empowered landlord registration and accountability process.
Fourthly, all levels of government must work together over the long term to ensure that the stock of affordable homes is expanded through development of new not for profit, co-operative and social housing units that are accessible to local citizens and most notably those from disadvantaged and equity seeking groups.
Fifthly, we call upon the private sector, notably developers, landlords and financial institutions to play their role as responsible corporate citizens and to work collaboratively with governments, not for profit agencies, tenant and community associations to ensure that new housing developments reflect the needs of the community as a whole, not just the top 10%. This should include investment in integrated housing / inclusionary zoning (whereby affordable units are integrated into larger developments) and respect and support for the Landlord Registration and accountability process. Government needs to define and apply incentives for responsible corporate behaviour, and penalties for bad corporate behaviour.
Last, but certainly not least, all levels of government must work together to address the needs of the homeless. In the current market and regulatory environment, tenant families are all just one month away from living in a tent or shelter. This is simply not acceptable.
This is the statement of the Ocean Breeze Residents Association (OBRA). We look forward to your feedback.