Halifax’s new mayor is trying to make good on a campaign promise to phase out the city’s tent encampments.
It was part of the added items on the agenda, Tuesday, in Regional Council’s first meeting since the municipal election.
Andy Fillmore brought up a motion to de-designate the nine possible tent sites established in July.
The list included popular tourist attractions like Point Pleasant Park and the Commons and sparked a lot of concerns.
Council picked the locations as places to fall back on, if needed, as encampments began to get overcrowded.
There are currently five designated tent sites around HRM.
Other initiatives to cater to the unhoused currently include the tiny homes in Lower Sackville and a pallet shelter coming to Bancroft and Marketplace in Dartmouth, which was slated to be an encampment.
The motion to de-designate the nine sites was backed by Councillor Trish Purdy and next steps now include a report and recommendation from CAO Cathie O’Toole.
