With a month until school starts, still no sign of Nova Scotia's student housing strategy

As the school year quickly approaches, student advocacy groups are waiting for the Nova Scotia government's student housing strategy — and are worried post-secondary students will be on their own for another academic year when it comes to housing support.

The province's first student housing strategy was supposed to be released this past spring, but the Department of Advanced Education hasn't released it, or said when it will be coming.

"We've been waiting on the provincial housing strategy for some time now," Georgia Saleski, executive director of Students Nova Scotia, said in an interview Tuesday. "I personally haven't heard anything about it, and our concern is really that the fall semester is coming."

The student housing strategy isn't the only plan the province is sitting on. It's part of a larger provincial housing strategy that was also supposed to be released this past spring, to explain how the government plans to confront a crisis that includes rising prices and low supply.

Saleski said since residences fill up and have waiting lists, the biggest issues for students are the affordability of rentals, and the struggle to find available rental units.

And the struggle goes beyond just having a place to stay for the semester.

"I think that really the issue is housing determines whether or not you're able to access education, and we've seen it time and time again," she said. 

"I think that's why the housing crisis has such an impact on students, both from a financial point of view, but then also from the ability to access post-secondary education in the province."

Last September, CBC News reported on students who couldn't find a place to live, even after classes had started. Saleski worries this school year will bring more of the same.

'Incredibly challenging time,' says department

The department in charge of post-secondary education wouldn't give any new information on what's holding up the strategy's release.

"We know this is an incredibly challenging time for students, and all Nova Scotians, to find housing," a department spokesperson wrote in an email. 

"The recent wildfires and floods have made it even more difficult. We want students to know that, across government, we're working hard to find solutions and act on them quickly."

Spokesperson Ameeta Vohra pointed to past announcements, including two new residences at Nova Scotia Community College campuses in Dartmouth and one in Stellarton, as well as a $5-million housing project in Sydney that will include student housing.

A spokesperson for NSCC told CBC News in an email that construction is on schedule for the Pictou and Akerley campuses (September 2024) and Ivany campus (September 2025).

Anubhav Gupta, the vice-president of advocacy for the Saint Mary's University Students' Association, said he is hearing from many students who are worried about finding a place to live come September.

He said the rental climate is forcing many to move farther outside of Halifax and commute, or pack extra roommates into small quarters.

"We're just worried that them being in a vulnerable position, without a specific plan in place to support them, that they will have to resort to measures that may not be best for them in the long run," he said.

Gupta said international students face extra barriers since they're new to the country and don't usually have a solid understanding of Nova Scotia's rental market. He said they often fall victim to scams.

"We've also heard cases of places that people have already paid their deposits on ... those places not existing once students show up," Gupta said. 

"So it is a big issue for international students because they don't have anything else to fall back on. Like, if they get here, they don't have a place to say, what will they do?"

As an international student himself, he said he almost had to defer his education in Canada because he couldn't find a place to live.

More off-campus support needed

Student leaders say off-campus support is needed to provide more timely solutions.

Saleski said Students Nova Scotia hopes the strategy will include off-campus housing officers to help guide students through the process of renting and inform them of their rights.

Gupta said a centralized database of verified rentals could help students find safe places to live and avoid scammers.

Both said they hope to see the strategy released by the fall.

"This is something that students need and that the province needs, quite frankly, in order to be proactive in this situation," Saleski said. 

"We're seeing housing crises all across the country. And this would be an opportunity for Nova Scotia to really put their best foot forward."