N.S. government has no timeline for completing its student housing strategy

Advanced Education Minister Brian Wong says developing a student housing strategy is a complex issue and he cannot say when the plan which was due last spring will be complete.

But Wong recently told reporters at Province House that the lack of a plan is not hindering his government's ability to work on addressing the mounting demands for affordable student housing at a time when Nova Scotia is facing record needs for all types of housing.

The minister pointed to announcements over the last year of three student residences for Nova Scotia Community College campuses,plans to spend $5 million in support of projects in Cape Breton Regional Municipality and $3 million for residence upgrades at the Atlantic School of Theology.

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Wong also highlighted the government's recent partnership with Happy Pad, an online platform that pairs people who haverooms for rent in their home with people in need of a room.

"There's vacancies right across this province that we need to match the homeowner that has an empty room with somebody that needs it, whether it's a nurse, whether it's a student or whether it's a skilled trades person," Wong told reporters.

'People were waiting for this'

Unfortunately for the minister, there's been next to no uptakeon the idea. As of Tuesday, there were 19 available rooms listed for the entire province.

Opposition politicians said the delayed delivery of the student housing strategy shows a lack of commitment and urgency on the part of the provincial government.

"I think they've been neglecting the housing file and they're finally starting to realize that that neglect is leading to more homelessness and lack of space for everybody, and students are really feeling the pinch of it," Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said in an interview on Tuesday.

NDP MLA Lisa Lachance said student representatives have been doing their own work on the issue, trying to identify the level of need, and it's disappointing that the government still does not have a plan.

"People were waiting for this, there was a really strong expectation that there was going to be a strong strategy," Lachance said in an interview at Province House.

"Now, I don't think it's coming forward."

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Wong would not commit to any kind of timeline for when the strategy will be complete, declining even to say if it would be ready before the next provincial election in July 2025. He said he's talked to students at every university and community college campus across the province to try to determine their needs as the work continues.

"So we're taking those needs, we're taking our consultations with the private sector, with our post-secondary sector and we're just trying to get a plan in place and the plan will certainly be ready when we're ready to release it."