{"id":5146,"date":"2021-09-24T11:45:32","date_gmt":"2021-09-24T15:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/coast-acorn-rally-calls-government-extend-rent-control\/"},"modified":"2021-09-24T11:45:32","modified_gmt":"2021-09-24T15:45:32","slug":"coast-acorn-rally-calls-government-extend-rent-control","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/news\/coast-acorn-rally-calls-government-extend-rent-control\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coast: ACORN rally calls on government to extend rent control"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tPosted September 24, 2021<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\"\"On Thursday morning, traffic on Hollis Street was moving even slower than normal. Cars and semi-trucks were honking, some repeatedly, as they approached the provincial legislature\u2014but it wasn\u2019t because of a mid-morning traffic jam. Beginning at 10am, dozens of people gathered outside the provincial legislature to call on the government to extend rent control, which is currently set to end when the COVID state of emergency is called off or on February 1, whichever comes first. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHo ho, hey hey, rent control is here to stay,\u201d chanted the crowd, at different points led by organizers from social justice advocate group ACORN NS or by speakers including NDP leader and Halifax MLA Gary Burrill. The Coast NDP leader Gary Burrill said a permanent rent control law shouldn\u2019t be “approached from the point of view of investments or the point of view of markets.\u201c <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have a government that has said very clearly that it is not interested in providing this form of protection to the people of Nova Scotia,\u201d Burrill said of rent conrol. \u201cAnd that is the issue that is before us.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tBurrill slammed premier Tim Houston\u2019s focus on the housing market and creating more \u201chousing stock\u201d as a solution. \u201cThis question that is before us of permanent rent control, this is not a question to be approached from the point of view of investments or the point of view of markets,\u201d Burrill said, adding that the families and people getting evicted should be the focus. Related Tim Houston (again) rejects rent control: \u201cNobody wants to see somebody homeless,\u201d said the premier-designate, who couldn\u2019t explain how he intends to bridge the housing gap. Related Nova Scotia announces temporary rent control: Here’s the nitty gritty on Nova Scotia\u2019s new protections for renters. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tThe rally\u2019s other speakers included new Halifax Needham MLA Suzy Hansen, Christine Saulnier from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and CUPE president Nan McFadgen. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDuring the campaign I spoke to many constituents in Halifax Needham,\u201d said Hansen when she addressed the crowd. \u201cMany of whom are moving because the property was sold and their rent would be too high for them to pay.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tIn Nova Scotia, complaints of rental fees skyrocketing during the pandemic because of low housing stock are what led to rent control in the first place. But as the protection for renters is set to end, some have already gotten a warning that their rent will increase drastically as soon as it\u2019s able to. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhere I\u2019m at, the main concern is that the rent is expensive,\u201d said Lisa Hayhurst, an ACORN member and Dartmouth chapter chair, in an interview with The Coast just before the rally began. \u201cAnd it lacks repairs, so really it\u2019s substandard living for what I\u2019m paying for rent.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tHayhurst, who lives in the Highfield Park area of Dartmouth, said she doesn\u2019t expect repairs to be done any time soon but she does expect\u2014and fear\u2014a rent increase. Some of her neighbours have already gotten notices their rent will go up by hundreds of dollars as soon as rent control ends. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI just got involved with ACORN \u2018cause there\u2019s been so many issues where I live,\u201d she said. \u201cThe tenants are really upset with what\u2019s been going on and the rent cap and stuff, they\u2019re upping the rent and they\u2019re not fixing things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tHayhurst says she expects more of her friends, neighbours and maybe even herself to end up in precarious housing situations if the rent cap is lifted. She doesn\u2019t know whether the rally will change anything, but just wants the government to pay attention. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt least it\u2019ll make them listen. That\u2019s the main thing, is to get them to listen, because the rent cap is important,\u201d Hayhurst says. \u201cBecause there\u2019s so many people that just cannot afford to live.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tArticle by Victoria Walton for The Coast<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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