Nova Scotia’s opposition parties say they can’t understand why the government insists the province doesn’t need an enforcement unit to help settle disputes between landlords and tenants.
The parties’ reactions come after the government released a $300,000 report on Wednesday that laid out how such a unit would work.
Halifax firm Davis Pier Consulting was mandated by the government in 2022 to study how an enforcement unit could manage disputes more efficiently, and the company delivered its report more than a year ago.
Minister of Service Nova Scotia Colton LeBlanc says it was determined upon reviewing the report that such an enforcement unit would result in more red tape and longer dispute resolution times for both landlords and tenants.
Opposition Liberal Leader Zach Churchill says it’s baffling the province is not proceeding with an enforcement unit that both tenants and landlords have called for.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she finds it “stunning” that about a year ago the province appeared to be moving forward with tenancy enforcement only to decide to scrap the plan.
Chender says a compliance unit could help protect renters from landlords who are behaving illegally.
“Our question now is who’s in the premier’s ear telling him not to do this? How did this change? Because it remains clear that both tenants and landlord organizations want this enforcement unit.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.