Halifax music community demands housing justice ahead of JUNO Awards
Signs placed outside of Grand Parade in downtown Halifax. This is one of the five encampment sites closed by the municipality on February 7, 2024.
As Halifax embraces the festivities of JUNO Week, the city's pressing housing crisis remains at the forefront of public concern. In October, Halifax Municipality designated 11 encampment sites for unhoused individuals. However, on February 7, eviction notices were issued for five of these sites, demanding residents vacate by February 26. The city cited alternative options, yet the timing, just before what is known as “Canada’s biggest night in music,” has drawn scrutiny from many - including the local music community.
On Sunday, March 24, while the JUNO Awards are taking place, musicians and music will be holding their own event at Grand Parade - one of the former encampment sites. Colin Roderick, drummer of local band Sleepy Kicks is one of the individuals who organized the Halifax Musicians Rally for Housing-Crisis Accountability. He says that walking past one of the encampments on the day residents were forcibly evicted left him feeling upset and deeply disappointed. “As soon as I got to work, I drafted up a poster and posted it on Instagram. From there, people shared the message, and some really great people reached out to help me organize it,” says Colin.
In less than a month, the @HalifaxMusiciansRally2024 Instagram account has gained over 600 followers. “One of the reasons I framed it as a musician’s rally is because I know the music community is a great group of people who look out for each other and are witnessing what the housing crisis is doing to the city,” he says. “While city officials deny that this encampment clearing had anything to do with the JUNOS being in town, even though it seems very opportunistic for the encampment clearings to be happening just before this national event, it’s still a prime opportunity to put pressure on municipal and provincial leaders to address the housing crisis while there is a spotlight on our city.”
Allan Reid, President and CEO of CARAS/The JUNO Awards and MusiCounts says the housing crisis is a situation across Canada. “We were in Edmonton last year and going to Vancouver next year. There is a housing crisis, there are all kinds of crises happening so we hope the people here - and we know a lot of the musicians here are trying to support that. We’ve talked to the city and the province and I know they’re trying their best to work for the city and the people here but finding permanent housing is one of the biggest challenges,” he says. Allan also noted that the JUNOS did not ask the city to remove any encampments leading up to the event.
Leading up to the rally, Colin says they’ve had great support from musicians and the music community. “Nathan Doucet, a local musician who has experience working with encampment residents through a number of programs in Halifax and Toronto, has been an invaluable support and wealth of knowledge,” he says. “I absolutely would not have been able to carry through with this rally at this scale without his help, along with Nick Piovesan (Rootabagga) and Anna Brown,” he says, adding that hundreds of musicians have shared the message and artists like Leith Ross, Aquakultre and Avery Dakin have vocalized their support.
For Avery, she learned about the rally after seeing social media posts from the Halifax Musician Rally 2024 Instagram page. “I was inspired to get involved because witnessing these inhumane actions against unhoused people time after time is sickening. There is nothing that can justify this level of cruelty. The frustration and anger I feel seeing the city use the industry events that I’m a part of to displace people even further is unfathomable,” she says. “Having been at the shelter removals on August 18, 2021 to protest, witnessing the violence and disregard for human life firsthand, it’s beyond painful to see the same approach being taken now. It’s especially enraging knowing that there aren’t safe, supportive housing or shelter options available for everyone, despite dubious claims from the city.”
On March 20, The Canadian Press reported that the city spent $30,000 to remove encampments. Avery says she wishes resources of that magnitude could have been put toward real solutions. “There’s a concerning level of dehumanization involved when those who are employed to serve the public, who know they have a warm bed to sleep in every night, feel justified in ripping away the last shreds of comfort and safety an unhoused person might have,” she says. “Ultimately there will be a reckoning for this and the overall lack of action taken in regards to the housing crisis in Nova Scotia, and no amount of pushing the people who are most deeply affected to the sidelines will change that.”
Colin hopes political leaders will come forward and address the need to increase spending on public housing. “If they continue on with their current plans and inaction, we will never be able to effectively fix the housing crisis,” says Colin. “Additionally, it’s important to increase the visibility of these encampment evictions to the public. It is not ok to evict these people from where they are staying without providing them proper housing solutions. It’s dangerous and irresponsible.”
The rally takes place at 5 pm at Grand Parade on Sunday, March 24 and will be making its way up to the JUNOS red carpet event. “We encourage musicians, music fans, and anyone who feels impacted by these encampment evictions to show up,” says Colin. “Bring signs, instruments, noise-makers, and dress for the weather. By showing up as a community to this red carpet and making noise, we are communicating that we stand with our fellow citizens who have been evicted and that we demand investment into public housing from our political leaders.”
