‘We need to do more': Halifax considers removing one of last designated encampment sites
After accommodations with a friend fell through, Cassandra Taylor and her dog were forced to the streets, living at Cogswell Park in Halifax for about a month now.
'It's different, it's my first time living like this,' she tells CTV News Atlantic. 'But, for the most part, you gotta make the best of it.'
Unable to make ends meet as a single person, she's worried about the future, especially because Halifax will be considering removing the site off its limited list of approved encampment locations.
'You realize how much you need a home when you don't have one,' Taylor says.
She's stressed about the thought of having to find somewhere else to live.
She hopes if she's told to leave, she'll also be told housing is lined up for her, but she realizes 'that's very unlikely.'
The motion
A motion by area councillor Virginia Hinch will be brought to council on Tuesday, asking for a staff report detailing when the site could be 'de-designated' – and that it be closed and remediated as soon as possible.
'When Council approved Cogswell Park as a designated site in July 2024, a total of eight tents were permitted to occupy this space,' the motion reads. 'The number of tents at this encampment site has since doubled. In addition to exceeding occupancy limits, there are also safety concerns on the part of residents including fire safety concerns.'
Hinch says she's heard complaints from people living near the park.
'They're valid concerns, unfortunately, with safety, with the way that the park is looking; it's not at its best nowadays,' she says.
According to Hinch, neighbours have also reported fires and rats at the park.
The motion notes the Parkland Campus on Quinpool Road is expected to open this fall, which means Cogswell Park will fall within 50 metres of an adult care facility and will no longer meet the criteria for a designated encampment site.
Parkland Campus
Parkland Campus on Quinpool Road is slated to open fall 2025. (Source: Callum Smith/CTV News Atlantic)
Patrick Maubert, a program director and social worker at Brunswick Street Mission, is disappointed to hear the location could be removed.
'These are people's homes. At the end of the day, a tent is someone's home,' Maubert says. 'To be retraumatizing people by kicking them out of their homes and potentially losing their belongings… it's disappointing to hear.
'It is a bit of a head scratcher as to why now, and I think when we see growing numbers and encampments, I think we have to look at that as a systemic issue.'
Maubert says while there are some options available to people, such as Pallet shelters, there still aren't enough secure spaces for people living rough.
'We need to do more'
Hinch says collaboration between all three levels of government is needed because the homeless population 'looks like it's going to continue to grow and grow and grow.'
'That should be a sign that we need to do more,' she says.
Hinch, who previously worked in the housing sector, acknowledges finding an affordable place to live is difficult, but says the municipality needs to take some responsibility, too.
'It falls heavily on us… We could do better for sure, the province can do a lot better as well,' she says. 'Either it's the new norm or…we do something about it.'
For Taylor, her situation is made even more challenging, living with mental health and addictions issues.
'I just hope that anyone that has a home, just be grateful, because you never know when your life can get turned upside down and they could be end up living like how we are,' she says.
Along with Cogswell Park, the remaining designated encampment sites are Green Road Park in Dartmouth, the Barrington Street green space and Lower Flinn Park.
-With files from CTV News Atlantic's Sean Mott
Cassandra Taylor
Cassandra Taylor and her dog, Fetty Wap, named after the rapper, live at the Cogswell Park encampment in Halifax. (Source: Callum Smith/CTV News Atlantic)
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
13 minutes ago
- CTV News
CTV National News: Terror at Calgary Stampede after multiple people stabbed
Watch Three people are in hospital with life-threatening injuries following a targeted stabbing attack on the midway of the Calgary Stampede. Kathy Le has the latest.
CTV News
28 minutes ago
- CTV News
North Bay council split over call to audit mayor's expenses
As chaos erupted in the chambers as North Bay city council rejected a motion for an independent audit of the mayor's expenses after personal credit card use was revealed last month. Mayor Peter Chirico repaid about $16,000 in personal charges but now faces scrutiny. Councillor Tanya Vrebosch calls for transparency, while others defend Chirico. In the end, no audit was voted on, but the council did agree to quarterly online expense reports. Eric Taschner has more.
CTV News
42 minutes ago
- CTV News
Criminal breach charges withdrawn for man found not criminally responsible for wife's death and house explosion
Some charges have been withdrawn after a hospital report said Udo Haan breached his review board requirements. CTV's Heather Senoran explains. A court in St. Thomas has withdrawn criminal breach charges against a Kitchener, Ont. man who was previously found not criminally responsible for his wife's death and an explosion that destroyed the couple's home in 2018. In 2023, a judge ruled Udo Haan was suffering from delusions when he killed his wife, Edra, and blew up their home on Sprucedale Cresent. Haan was sent to the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas at the conclusion of his criminal case and has been diagnosed with an unspecified bipolar disorder. He has been taking lithium as part of a treatment plan. His care has been under the purview of the Ontario Review Board. The board gave Haan permission to move out of the hospital in September 2024. Shortly after, he was living independently in an apartment near the hospital. Charges withdrawn In April 2025, a hospital report said police went to Haan's apartment after a woman complained he had been harassing her. The report said when police arrived at his apartment, they found him drinking beer and smoking cannabis. Drinking alcohol, smoking cannabis and having a lighter on him were all considered violations of his order and he was criminally charged. On Tuesday, the charges were withdrawn. 'These charges are, first of all, they're just based upon things that anybody could do, like having a beer, a joint and a lighter to light them,' Stephen Gehl, Haan's lawyer, said after the charges were withdrawn. 'It's not, by anybody's estimation, something that would be that big a deal in normal circumstances.' Gehl said the charges were withdrawn because the Ontario Review Board, who has jurisdiction over his case, is already dealing with it. 'The board orders can be enforced in criminal court, but it's kind of pointless if you're going to enforce it in the review board system. Why do it twice?' he said. Haan is back at the hospital, according to Gehl. 'When you breach the terms imposed by the review board, the hospital has the power to rehospitalize. They take you back into the hospital and then keep you in the hospital. They call that a restriction of liberty. And so that effectively would do far more to a patient than a prosecution for what is essentially minor offenses,' Gehl said. Searching for justice Al Pinheiro, Edra Haan's husband, said it has been a painful process from the start. 'It was a real cluster right off the start,' Pinheiro said. 'The explosion, finding her body on one side, him having gone to the hospital and then before they charged him. It was, I think, a week or so, maybe a week and a half before charges were laid.' He said the family is still hurting. Pinheiro questions if Haan living independently is right. '[If] you're deemed criminally not responsible at the time, but then they can get you back living a normal life, then you should go back and pay for what you did,' Pinheiro said. Gehl believes that not criminally responsible means there is no one at fault. 'It's not intended to be a punitive system or to reflect condemnation against the offender because that person isn't responsible. This is intended to be therapeutic. Can we assist this person in somehow recovering? If we can't, he stays in and there are people who are in that system for decades,' Gehl said. A doctor at the facility determined Haan was incapable of making treatment decisions for his bipolar condition, causing Haan to launch a court appeal for that decision. The hospital noted that the appeal limited his treatment options, meaning his hospital stay would likely be extended. Gehl said Haan no longer plans to appeal that decision.
