The province is hoping to cut more red tape in the housing sector with a new bill tabled at the legislature.
The bill, introduced Friday, has a particular focus on housing in Halifax, and will grant the Housing Minister “new authority to ensure housing project aren’t delayed,” according to a news release.
“These changes will help us act faster and reduce the barriers that slow down housing projects so that more Nova Scotians will have access to the homes they need,” wrote Housing Minister John White in a news release.
The changes aim to extend the Executive Panel on Housing in Halifa by two years.
Minister White would also get order-making power on housing in the HRM and with Halifax Water. The province says this will help them better coordinate resources so housing projects get moving “without delays and stay affordable over the long term.”
The bill also introduces several changes related to municipal chief administrative officers, or CAOs.
A municipal council would be able to create an oversight committee to monitor the performance of the chief administrative officer.
And it gives them other powers to manage the CAO as well, including to:
- give councils explicit discretion to exclude or limit participation of their CAO in discussions and training sessions related to their performance
- clarify councils’ ability to manage CAO participation on external boards and committees, aligning CAO priorities with council expectations
- clarify councils’ ability to decide on long-term delegation of their CAO’s responsibilities during extended absences
On top of that, new municipal councillors would have to undergo mandatory training under the new bill to make sure they understand their responsibilities, the release says.
Lastly, the Minister of Municipal Affairs would gain the temporary ability to regulate HRM’s urban service area boundary, which the government says will let the minister decide where infrastructure has to be built out to “support sustainable growth.”
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