Press Hits

With the province mired in a housing crisis, the contentious issue of fixed-term leases was the topic du jour as the new Nova Scotia housing minister met with reporters following Thursday’s cabinet meeting. John White, the Glace Bay-Dominion MLA who joined cabinet two weeks ago, didn’t discuss fixed-term leases directly but said a low vacancy rate has given landlords “the upper hand.”

Some people very familiar with New Brunswick’s housing shortage say rooming houses could be part of the solution, but the existing supply of this once popular low-cost housing option continues to dwindle. That kind of information would be available if the province had a rental registry, said Harper Trottier, whose group ACORN N.B. would like to see a registry created. Some non-profit groups in the province are using rooming houses in housing first programs, said Woodhall-Melnik. There’s one in Saint John, for example, that is specifically for youth. They’re also fairly common living arrangements for students, [they] said.

NB Power is asking for another rate increase after two years of major hikes and growing frustration from customers. The utility is seeking an increase of 4.75 per cent from the province’s Energy and Utilities Board beginning April 2026. That would average about $10.90 per month for customers. But local advocacy group, New Brunswick ACORN, says it’s all too much for customers — amid increasing financial pressures. “People are at a breaking point, it’s just outrageous,” said the group’s chair, Nichola Taylor.

Mayor Oliva Chow tours a Scarborough apartment that tenants say is plagued with problems. Michelle Mackey reports on how the city says it’s strengthening tenant protections.

A proposed Adequate and Suitable Cooling by-law would require landlords to keep the temperature inside apartments below a dangerous threshold — but tenants advocacy group London Acorn argues the exemption of certain buildings would leave many vulnerable Londoners at risk. The by-law would require landlords of rental units that are equipped with an air conditioning system to ensure that the temperature in the apartments does not exceed 26 degrees from June 16 to Aug. 31 each year. However, representatives of London Acorn warn that the by-law would exempt the buildings most in need of enforcement.

London city council is a step closer to making it mandatory for some landlords to keep their units cool to protect tenants from extreme heat, though critics say that the proposed bylaw falls short of protecting the city’s most vulnerable people. City council’s community protective services committee voted on Monday in favour of a new maximum temperature bylaw that would make property owners maintain indoor temperatures at their rental units below 26C from June 16 to August 31. The requirement, however, would only apply to units already equipped with air conditioning (AC), meaning many low-income tenants won’t benefit from the changes, said Jordan Smith, a local leader with tenants’ rights groups ACORN.