DSU statement on housing security
and police violence in HRM
September 3, 2021
On August 18, 2021, the Halifax Regional Police carried out orders from the Halifax Regional Municipality to forcibly evict and fine houseless people living in temporary housing and crisis shelters made by Halifax Mutual Aid and community members.
During these evictions, citizens of Halifax, including students of Dalhousie, came together to stand in solidarity with our community and to advocate for access to affordable housing. As a response to community action, the Halifax Regional Police used excessive force including violent arrests, pepper spray, and full riot gear as weapons against protestors.
The Dalhousie Student Union, on behalf of our 18,000 members, condemns the violence enacted by the HRP as well as the lack of action taken by the HRM in response to this violence. Ordering mass evictions and the destruction of temporary shelters will not solve the housing crisis. These actions are a poorly concealed attempt to hide the housing crisis in our city, and students stand among the many community members who are appalled by the HRM and its police force’s decision to escalate the situation. The municipality’s response to houselessness cannot be removing crisis shelters, but rather must be the investment into long-term solutions to address housing insecurity and houselessness. All community members in this city deserve housing.
The DSU calls on the Halifax Regional Municipality and the Halifax Regional Police to immediately cease the evictions of houseless people from temporary shelters in Halifax and the destruction or removal of any temporary shelters that are created in this city. We call on the municipal government and police to revoke all fines issued to individuals occupying temporary shelters on August 18th, as well as all charges or fines issued to community members protesting the evictions of houseless people from shelters on August 18th.
Furthermore, we call on the provincial government to work with the HRM to put permanent protections in place for those occupying temporary shelters in Halifax as a first step to recognizing the reality of the housing crisis in this city. The government must protect rather than destroy these short-term, lifesaving measures that community members are creating for their houseless neighbors. This is the bare minimum response that community members need from our government.
This is not enough, however. We also call on the provincial government to immediately instate permanent rent control in Nova Scotia. More of our community members, particularly students, are in danger of becoming houseless due to the low vacancy rate and sky-rocketing rental prices in this city. The government is prepared to lift the rent cap put in place during the state of emergency due to COVID-19, but what the events on August 18th have highlighted to all of us is that the housing crisis in Halifax is not over. The housing crisis, which is already a dire situation, will become dramatically worse upon the removal of the 2% rent cap.
Students and community members need permanent rent control now. We need all levels of government to address the housing crisis with the same urgency it showed during its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing is a human right which must be protected, and houselessness is a crisis which must not be punished.