HALIFAX — An independent review is slamming the Nova Scotia government’s progress on complying with a human rights ruling to move people with disabilities out of institutions and into their own homes by 2028. The report from Michael Prince, who was appointed to independently track progress as an expert in disability issues and social discrimination, says Nova Scotia’s efforts this year lack urgency and transparency. In a provincial report in June, the Nova Scotia government said it had completed 16 of 34 requirements from the human rights reform, known as the remedy, and had made progress on several others. In Prince’s assessment released Thursday, he says just seven requirements have been completed entirely. In 2021, the Disability Rights Coalition won an Appeal Court decision that identified systemic government discrimination in Nova Scotia against people with disabilities seeking housing and services in their communities. The three people behind the original complaints were medically discharged, but still spent years living in a locked ward at a psychiatric hospital. A human rights board of inquiry subsequently created a list of reforms required to address the province’s shortcomings. Prince’s report says while there have been “some points of progress” this year, there’s a troubling lack of traction and acceleration on several of the remedy’s requirements. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026. Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
