Nova Scotia’s new welfare rules exclude tents, cars and trailers

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsCanada Nova Scotia's new welfare rules exclude tents, cars and trailers The province filed a legislative amendment to require that income assistance recipients live in a home with plumbing 18 days after a court ruled a tent counted as a home Author of the article: By Mason Kossak Published Aug 26, 2026 5 minute read Join the conversation Nova Scotia homeless move their tent to another location in Victoria Park as police enforce removal. PHOTO BY PETER PARSONS Article content To qualify for higher income assistance in Nova Scotia, a home now needs running water and a sewer connection. Article content The province filed the legislative amendment on Aug. 25 and it took effect the same day. It rewrites the provision the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal interpreted on Aug. 7, when it ruled that Bradley Lowe’s tent was his accommodation. Article content Article content Lowe died Dec. 15, 2023, of an overdose in a tent in front of Halifax City Hall, after camping at Victoria Park. Two months earlier he applied to move from $380 a month to the enhanced rate of $974, saying he had a disability and owned his tent. He was denied because he was deemed unhoused. Article content Article content Under the amended rates, a single person on income assistance receives $410 a month without a home and $738 with one. The rate rises to $1,022 for someone with a home who has a disability, is 55 or older or meets other criteria in the regulations. Article content NP Posted Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content “I am satisfied that the tent owned by Mr. Lowe, and in which he resided, was his accommodation within the meaning of s. 49 of the Regulations,” Chief Justice Michael Wood wrote in the decision. Article content Bradley Lowe died Dec. 15, 2023, after overdosing in a tent in front of Halifax City Hall. PHOTO BY FACEBOOK Article content The amendment strikes “is renting or owns their accommodation” from Section 49 and substitutes “lives in a home.” Article content The previous regulations never defined accommodation, but now defined a home as the primary residence of a recipient that is a self-contained unit they rent or own, a room in…