MEDIA RELEASE NSGEU Questions Provincial Housing Agency Cuts Amid Housing Crisis

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) condemns government’s decision to eliminate 34 positions as part of a newly announced restructuring, including 11 unionized positions.

The announcement comes at a time when Nova Scotia is facing a housing crisis.

“Nova Scotians are struggling to find affordable housing, public housing waitlists remain a challenge, and housing affordability continues to be one of the most urgent issues facing our province,” said NSGEU President Sandra Mullen. “At a time when government should be strengthening public housing, they are instead reducing staff at the very agency responsible for delivering those services.”

While the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency (NSPHA) claims the job cuts are designed to improve service delivery, it is unclear whether they are driven by operational needs or whether they are tied to the government’s broader spending reduction targets announced in the spring provincial budget.

“The employer is calling this a restructuring, but Nova Scotians deserve to know whether these reductions are actually the result of the government’s mandate to cut spending,” said Mullen, “When public services are being reduced during a housing crisis, people have every right to ask whether budget targets are being prioritized over the needs of tenants and communities.”

The union is particularly concerned about the impact on employees who have already endured years of uncertainty since the creation of the NSPHA, including the agency’s refusal to implement the current public-sector wage pattern.

“These workers have already been through enough,” said Mullen. “They’ve dealt with organizational upheaval, uncertainty about their future, delays in bargaining, and now they’re being told their positions are being eliminated. These are dedicated public sector employees who have continued serving tenants throughout all of this disruption.”

The cuts also point to a concerning gap in government’s spending priorities. After slashing funding to public services in February, the Premier was able to find funding for a $310,000-a-year Chief Executive Officer position within a newly created agency. Now, he is choosing to cut capacity within our public housing sector.

“Every one of these positions represents knowledge, experience, and capacity within the public housing system. The question Nova Scotians should be asking is simple: if we’re in a housing crisis, why is the government reducing the workforce of the agency responsible for helping address it?” said Mullen.