N.S. to build transitional modular housing for health-care workers

The province of Nova Scotia says it will spend $8 million to build modular housing projects which will provide affordable, transitional housing for health-care workers “in communities where housing options are limited.”

A release from the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing said having more housing options will help with recruiting and retaining health-care workers.

“We need health-care workers, and we know some communities are having challenges recruiting and retaining them due to limited housing options,” said Housing Minister John Lohr in the release.

“The modular housing model has been successful in other jurisdictions. This investment will help support our health-care workers with transitional housing until more permanent solutions are available.”

The release said the province will partner with the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia on this project. They will work with health partners, municipalities and other stakeholders to place temporary mobile modular homes “in areas where there is an acute demand.”

“The Housing Trust of Nova Scotia will work closely with government representatives and municipalities to identify locations for the modular homes,” the release said.

“The trust will use its current processes to establish a modular partner so the units are delivered as quickly as possible.”

Michelle Thompson, the Minister of Health and Wellness, said lack of housing options is a “major hurdle” in attracting health-care workers to the region.

“These modular homes will help tackle a long-standing problem and attract healthcare professionals who want to make a life in Nova Scotia,” she said.

Supplier needed

In an email, Municipal Affairs and Housing spokesperson Krista Higdon said the modular units are “meant to be a short-term solution for people as communities build more housing stock over the next several years.”

She said the Nova Scotia Housing Trust will help establish qualification criteria for who can access the units.

“This initiative is based on need, so the principal criteria will be a demonstrated demand for units, within a given community,” she said.

Higdon also said the trust will work “urgently” to partner with a supplier for the modular units.

“Getting the modulars delivered quickly is the priority in choosing a supplier. Until a supplier is chosen, we can not predetermine how many modulars there will be,” she said.

This announcement comes nearly two weeks after Opposition parties called on the government to guarantee housing for the health-care workers it recently recruited from a Kenyan refugee camp.

Minister Thompson announced earlier this month that following a recruitment trip to a refugee camp in Kenya, the provincial government gave 65 people conditional offers to work as continuing-care assistants in the province.

Continuing-care assistants are trained to help with daily living for those who need support in health-care and long-term care facilities, or through home care.

Higdon said Tuesday that the 65 workers will be housed by their employer and will not be relying on the coming modular units.

— with files from The Canadian Press