This article is a prime example of how inept governments have become in managing the proper needs and safety measures for its people. They, however, manage to look after those who do not need the help such as the rich, entitled, and wealthy people, with our taxes and equalization payments. An example would be a convention center and museum in Halifax with an excess of equalization payments. (Karen Casey July 27, 2018) We must point out the obvious here. It was Derek Mombourquette who was a high-ranking minister who held multiple portfolios for 8 years straight under Stephen McNeil’s Liberals. All governments in Nova Scotia are ignoring why equalization is sent to this province. When was the last time we seen regional housing built in the CBRM? This should have been completed with equalization. It is gut wrenching to read Derek Mombourquette’s insincere comments in the following article and it is more gut wrenching to think for one minute that the public believes this nonsense. We contacted the office of Derek Mombourquette in the past two weeks about a young mother of two who was living in a tent. Derek never spoke to the young mother and instead brushed her off to some lady in his office who’s only help was to insult Father Maroun. The NSEF reached out to Nigel Kearns who was able to see the young mother in a home within 2 days with the help of the concerned community members and not the politicians. Then today we must watch Derek's political grandstanding as he has done nothing to address the homeless issue. If anyone was able to see change for our struggling municipality in government, it was Derek Mombourquette, but he chose to listen to a party leader over his own residents. "It's devastating because we’re trying to get support for folks who need it." And “Governments are at their best when they can support the people who need it the most” and “There’s good people trying their very best to help. But it’s time for the community to come together and say ‘OK, how are we going to do this together? And how are we going to do it based on the foundation of love and support?” The above comments made by Derek Mombourquette in this article are insincere and concerning. We feel that he is taking a bad situation and trying to make himself look good when he himself did nothing when he was able to help. Where was his concern and “love” then? The Liberals, The PC’s and the NDP’s all have neglected the CBRM and rural Nova Scotia by withholding our equalization funding that we so desperately needed to address this problem. Here is the article: I am just tired of losing': Cape Breton woman living in car waiting for housing. SYDNEY, N.S. — Gail Maloney passes her days by watching cruise ships and boats come and go in Sydney harbour and people sauntering along the idyllic boardwalk but it's no quaint situation as she says she passes her nights in the exact same spot living in her car with her two therapy dogs. It’s been that way since mid-July when she said she and her dogs Coco and Cody were out of their house in Marion Bridge and homeless. “I am just tired of losing,” Maloney said, her voice cracking with the weight of the dilemma. Maloney said things started to go downhill when a state trooper phoned her in July 2019 to tell her her “prince,” husband Fred, a tractor-trailer driver, had died while on a run in Cranbury, N.J. It was to have been his last year going stateside, she said. Debts, she said, forced her to no longer be able to keep her home. Gail Maloney and her two therapy dogs have been living in a car on the Sydney Waterfront since July. But with winter coming on soon enough, Maloney, who has health struggles, said she is nervous she won’t get a spot in public housing, as she said she’s on a waitlist. Ideally, she wants to live in Sydney to be closer to appointments and services but a roof is a roof. “It’s not a place I thought I would be at 65 years old,” Maloney said. “It’s just been down, down, down.” “It’s not a place I thought I would be at 65 years old." — Gail Maloney An affordable housing crisis will take years to resolve, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said recently in Montreal, as reported by Reuters and others. Asked what politicians can do to help situations like hers, Maloney said she doesn’t follow politics much. “I never wanted to know about politics,” she said. “And I want to know less now.” She said she's had her spirits lifted and fallen by hopes of getting off the list for public housing and into a place. She said she’s got to find tax documents now for her application. “The nights are getting chillier,” she said. Police, Maloney said, asked her to move on twice this summer. She said she tried a Walmart parking lot but said she didn’t feel safe there. Can't give up dogs. And she said she’s afraid, based on anecdotal stories, to go to a shelter. Trying to find a place on her own has been daunting, particularly with her devoted chihuahuas she says bring her comfort and companionship. “I’m not getting rid of my dogs,” Maloney said. She once worked as a seamstress and a laundromat attendant but said she has trouble walking now. She said she's on a fixed income now. “With medication, I don’t know how people do it,” Maloney said. Caroline Miles, who operates a nearby fish and chips stall, and other vendors on the waterfront have offered encouragement and help at times. “It’s outrageous. A woman who spent her life, worked all her life, shouldn’t be sleeping in a car,” Miles said. “Words can’t describe it.” Sydney-Membertou MLA Derek Mombourquette: "It's devastating because we’re trying to get support for folks who need it." 'It's devastating" The provincial government has been too silent on the housing situation in Cape Breton and what’s to be done about it, said Sydney Membertou Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette. “They’ve been really quiet about it in this community. You hear more about it in Halifax,” Mombourquette said. “It’s something that comes across our desks a lot and we continuously are advocating for people daily whether it’s through the housing authority or any of the other organizations around the community that we can try to help get people a roof over their head and get them housing. … We do deal with it every day in the office. It's devastating because we’re trying to get support for folks who need it.” Mombourquette said the government simply needs to be in the business of building more housing. “It’s been really years,” he said. It’s also part of the wider issue of cost of living and affordability. “What we have seen in the last two years is costs skyrocket for rents, inventory is an issue. We’ve seen growth for the first time in decades. So what we are asking the government to do is keep the CBRM a priority when it comes to housing growth, but also what other supports are you going to put in place to help people with the cost of living,” he said. “I’ve seen it more than I’ve ever seen it before, the challenge of trying to find people housing." Mombourquette also said there needs to be a larger community conversation about supporting the most vulnerable. “Governments are at their best when they can support the people who need it the most,” he said, adding those supports need to also be about safety and other concerns. “There’s good people trying their very best to help. But it’s time for the community to come together and say ‘OK, how are we going to do this together? And how are we going to do it based on the foundation of love and support?’” he said. Wait times Kelli MacDonald, spokesperson for Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency which includes the Cape Breton Island District, said the goal is to move applicants up the waiting list as quickly as possible. “We understand how challenging it is for people to find affordable housing right now,” MacDonald said in an email. “Wait times can vary for individuals depending on the choices they make when placing themselves on our waitlist. Applicants can choose the buildings or communities they want to live in. Applicants with pets may wait longer for a pet-friendly unit to become available. Others may only want to live in a specific building and therefore may wait longer for a placement. Applicants who broaden their options by selecting more buildings or more communities within a district are likely to be placed more quickly.” MacDonald said the agency is in the process of validating and updating its waitlist to ensure all those on the list continue to be eligible or continue to need access to public housing. As of Aug. 31, the records indicate that 1,263 applicants are on the list for Cape Breton with an average wait time of approximately 1.5 years. “When we provide waitlist numbers, we are providing the average wait time, which includes both ends of the wait time spectrum — the client who is waiting for a unit in a particular building and the client who has broadened their options by placing themselves on multiple building or community wait lists. Most clients wait for a unit less than two years,” she said. The Department of Community Services funds outreach and housing support workers across the province to connect with people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness, MacDonald noted. Housing support positions have recently increased across the province from 44 to 78. Resources for help · Call 211 · Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency · Cape Breton Island District, Sydney · Phone: 902-539-8520 · Toll-free: 1-800-565-3135 · Community Homeless Shelter · Townsend Street, Sydney · Provided by: Cape Breton Community Housing Association · General Inquiries: 902-564-9487 · Second Line: 902-539-0025