Halifax no longer advising homeless people tenting in Grand Parade to leave

CITYnews halifax / By The Canadian Press

Halifax Regional Municipality says it is no longer advising all homeless people living in tents in a downtown military parade square to leave.

Instead, the municipality says it will enforce a limit of eight tents in the Grand Parade.

The city issued its new policy today, five days after it said everyone tenting in the square would need to leave because eventual snow-clearing operations would make the area dangerous.

There are about 15 tents occupied by about 20 people in the Grand Parade.

In October, the Halifax Regional Municipality designated the city square, along with 10 other sites around the city, as a tenting area for people experiencing homelessness.

Halifax says its goal is to reduce the number of tents at Grand Parade and encourage people living there to move to indoor locations, like a newly opened emergency shelter in Dartmouth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.