HALIFAX: The provincial government announced modular housing for health care workers and skilled tradespeople.
The province said it is providing $12 million to provide temporary housing in areas where housing options are limited, including Antigonish, Guysborough, and Inverness counties.
“We know there is an urgent need for housing across the province. Based on feedback from our discussions with key stakeholders in health care and other sectors, as well as other government departments, the current need for housing is particularly acute in these areas,” Heather Fairbairn, Communications Advisor with the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing wrote The Reporter in an email. “These are also areas where provincially owned land is available that may be suitable for housing.”
Provincial land will be identified and an expression of interest has been issued as part of the work already underway with the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia, the province said. Pre-qualified suppliers will be invited to submit proposals, they noted.
“… We anticipate that the first modulars could be delivered as early as this summer,” said Fairbairn. “Specifics on timelines and exact locations are yet to be determined.”
The Housing Trust of Nova Scotia will administer the funding and manage logistics of the modular projects, the province said.
The housing trust will also continue to engage with municipalities and government representatives, such as Nova Scotia Health, as well as the Departments of Senior’s and Long-Term Care, Health and Wellness, and Labour Skills and Immigration to establish qualification criteria.
“We’re working hard to recruit and retain healthcare workers and other skilled tradespeople. We simply can’t afford to have that work impacted by a lack of available housing,” said Colton LeBlanc, acting Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
This investment follows an $8-million investment announced in January for modular housing for health care workers, said the province.
“We want to ensure that finding a place to live is not an obstacle for candidates accepting a job offer and moving to a new community,” said Barbara Adams, Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care. “Having options like modular housing available is an important part of ensuring Nova Scotian employers can hire the staff they need, and we can build the healthcare, continuing care and skilled trade workforces we need as a province.”
In January, the province announced 65 continuing care assistants from Kenya received conditional job offers to come to Nova Scotia.
The province said it recently launched a new orientation program that will help welcome and settle 140 doctors trained outside of Canada over the next three years. Also, a marketing campaign to attract skilled trades workers from other parts of Canada to Nova Scotia was recently completed with phase two focusing on Alberta and Ontario, they said.
“Our mission’s focus on affordable and quality housing as a part of vibrant communities is well aligned with the goal of attracting and retaining health care professionals and other key workers,” added Angela Bishop, Executive Director, Housing Trust of Nova Scotia. “The Housing Trust’s mixed-income model can adapt to meet the needs of individual communities for health care professionals and other skilled trades.”