Nearly 100 people gathered Saturday afternoon for the first public event hosted by the Mayor’s Roundtable on Housing.
Residents shared experiences and asked about everything from property taxes to co-housing opportunities, to foreign ownership and the need for infrastructure to support affordable housing growth.
Also in attendance was New Brunswick’s new minister responsible for housing, David Hickey, who made the trip from Saint John for the session. Hickey told the crowd the new Liberal government had plans for a two-fold approach to housing, improving tenants rights and stimulating housing supply. He also gave a shout out to Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton, who he says helped strengthen the government’s recent rent cap legislation. “She brought meaningful amendments forward,” said Hickey, “and because of that, we were able to make a bill better.”
Mayor Andrew Black cited some of the steps taken so far by the Mayor’s Roundtable, including a recent motion that could eventually lead to bylaw changes that will allow people to build garden suites on their properties.
CHMA was there and spoke to some of the session participants.
Hear this story as reported on Tantramar Report:
Sackville resident Ashley Legere was at Saturday’s session to share her experience working in Amherst as the Executive Director of Cumberland Homelessness & Housing Support Association, a position created with funding directly from the town of Amherst. Legere stressed the important role of not for profit organizations in solving the housing crisis, and also the role of municipalities in support those organizations. Where provincial and federal governments might have a more “9 to 5” approach to services, says Legere, municipal councils tend to have a closer connection to their communities.
In Amherst, says Legere, the municipal council came in with a “boots on the ground” approach, asking how they could support provincial and federal efforts in the community. “I’ve never worked in a place like it, where the municipality says, how can we help you, and how can we complement what the province is doing? And not, why is the province not doing this?”
“They stepped up to the table, and they continue to step up to the table,” said Legere. “They are phenomenal.”
Artie Kenney is a lifelong Sackvillian who says he’s long questioned whether what we call affordable housing is actually enough to allow people to thrive. “The amount of things that take up a person’s income from a month does not give them a great, sustainable lifestyle,” says Kenney. “It’s a matter of just being able to live day to day… working really to just provide for themselves, rather than to thrive.”
Kenney works in land development, and has started to do some development on his own. He said he understands the challenges and costs of building housing and infrastructure.
“It’s nice to hear all of the issues that others are having,” said Kenney. “I love to hear the passion from some of the people that are volunteering and are spending their time here, trying to help others.”
Jocelyn Mason came with plans to report back some of what she heard to roommates. “We enjoy living in Sackville,” said Mason, “but affordability in general is a big issue.”
Mason said the Saturday session was “a good starting point,” though felt that the crowd skewed older than “most of the people may be coming into housing might be.”
“I think having spaces like the meeting today are really important because you kind of get to hear from everybody in the community,” said Mason.
Deborah Jollimore spoke up during Saturday’s session to ask about representation on the Mayor’s Roundtable, and wondered whether the group included the voices of those in the most need.
“There’s not enough representation of the vulnerable demographics in our community,” said Jollimore, referring to seniors who are precariously housed, people with disabilities, single parents, and “people with lived experiences with housing vulnerabilities.”
Jollimore said the event on the whole was informative and gave her hope. “I’m really excited that the town council is looking at allowing garden suites, I think that that’s going to unlock a lot of potential in our community for families to expand their living arrangements and make space for their extended family, or perhaps students or what have you.”
“We do have a lot of great organizations working towards cooperative housing programs and sustainable solutions,” said Jollimore, “so it’s good to see.”
Mayor Andrew Black told the crown Saturday that the roundtable will be collecting the information gathered at the event and making it available through the municipality’s website.
