Nova Scotia government touts land-for-housing plan as way to reduce shortages

- Nova Scotia’s government is providing some of its surplus land in an Annapolis Valley village to help defray the cost of building 24 co-operative housing units. Project consultant Earl Mielke says the province’s donation will make the project viable, adding that purchasing the land would have cost about $1 million. Premier Tim Houston has argued that the best way to reduce the widespread shortages of affordable housing is to take a wide approach to increasing the supply across all income levels. However, NDP Leader Claudia Chender has argued that the province needs to be moving more quickly to address housing shortages and resume building some public housing on its own. He said the priority is to “do a better job of looking after the public housing we have,” noting that the province plans to spend $50 million in the next four years to upgrade its public housing stock.