Amid Nova Scotia's housing crisis, CBRM wants to make affordable homes a priority

Cape Breton regional councillors are considering updating their two-year-old strategic plan to add affordable housing and youth recreational opportunities as priorities.

Council held a workshop on Wednesday with presentations on CBRM's high rates of poverty and homelessness, as well as gaps in public transit and how they affect residents.

There's a provincewide shortage of homes and rental units, and prices have spiked while the housing stock hasn't kept up with a growing population.

Mayor Amanda McDougall said the existing strategic vision — which lists five priorities including economic development, a charter, harbour development, population growth and diversifying revenues — was good, but a public survey found it lacked a plan to address the difficulties faced by low-income residents. 

"It's our job to make sure nobody is left behind and I think reorganizing our strategic vision to make sure those pillars are yes, we need development, yes, we need to grow our community, but we also need to strengthen the core and that is every single human being that lives here," she said.

Danny Graham, head of the non-profit agency Engage Nova Scotia, said a survey with a large sample of CBRM residents in 2019 found that people with low incomes, the young, disabled and single parents are "strikingly" worse off than most other people who live in the municipality.

"Our Cape Breton way of life is renowned," said Graham, who was born and raised in Sydney. "But we need to ensure that our quality of life keeps up with that.

"Those who are experiencing difficulty are experiencing significant difficulty."

McDougall said the numbers show CBRM is leading Nova Scotia in deprivation rates for income, education, health and housing.

"On a personal level, my heart sinks," she said. "You don't want to be the top three communities in the province with deprivation rates that are just so, so enormous.

"That is heartbreaking. That means that people in our community are suffering more than people in other communities."

In addition to Graham, workshop presenters included Undercurrent Youth Centre pastor Dave Sawler, United Way of Cape Breton executive director Lynne McCarron and Cape Breton University professor and housing expert Catherine Leviten-Reid.

Sawler said many of the communities around Sydney are experiencing the highest rates of poverty in the province and that is affecting youth.

He said unequal access to services, programs and resources needs to be addressed for the long-term health of the community and the only way to do that is with an intentional plan.