HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government has made changes to its income assistance regulations to exclude homeless residents living in tents from getting access to enhanced financial support. The government introduced the change after the Nova Scotia’s Court of Appeal ruled on Aug. 5 that people living in tents were eligible for the enhanced support. The ruling overturned a Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision last year that found Bradley Lowe did not meet the eligibility requirements for enhanced income assistance because he lived in a tent. Lowe died in late 2023, but his family asked his lawyer Vince Calderhead to keep up the fight. Calderhead says the provincial government’s “very cruel” choice to change the language in its employment support and income assistance regulations effectively overturns the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s decision. The change was made in an order-in-council filed Tuesday on the recommendation of Susan Corkum-Greek, the minister of opportunities and social development. The amended regulations remove the term “accommodation” and substitute it with “lives in a home.” It also repeals the prior definition for “home” and defines it as a self-contained unit someone rents or owns, a room in a lodging house or a single-occupancy room in a building. The department did not immediately respond to request for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2026. Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
