Lawyers urge homeless Nova Scotians to claim higher income assistance after court ruling

Dalhousie Legal Aid’s activist lawyers have released a step-by-step guide encouraging people who sleep in tents, trailers or cars to seek the province’s enhanced income assistance rates after a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision. Chief Justice Michael Wood held that a tent qualifies as “accommodation,” overturning a prior denial for the estate of Bradley Lowe, a homeless man who died in a tent in 2023. The ruling could lift the basic monthly assistance from $410 to $738 for single occupants and up to $1,442 for two-person households; persons with disabilities may receive an additional $308 supplement, potentially reaching $1,022.

The guide notes the ruling does not extend to shelter residents, and eligibility for trailer owners may require proof of ownership. Provincial officials have not responded to queries about possible regulatory changes or an appeal. Legal worker Mark Culligan estimates about 50 residents at Halifax’s two designated encampments, with additional rough sleepers elsewhere, and reports that a handful of applications have already been submitted under the new guidance.