Homeless Halifax man should have had higher welfare payments: lawyer [Video]

HALIFAX –

A veteran human rights lawyer tried to convince a Nova Scotia judge on Wednesday that a homeless man living in a tent should have been entitled to the same welfare payments as a person with permanent housing.

Vince Calderhead, a lawyer for Bradley Lowe, a homeless man who died in an encampment last year, told the court it’s reasonable to interpret that the wording of the social assistance regulations permit the higher rate for people living in tents.

“The poor are entitled to the rule of law,” Calderhead, acting on behalf of Lowe’s estate, told the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

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Lowe started living in a Halifax tent encampment in a city park in September 2023 and applied for a monthly provincial payment of $950 — the standard rate at the time for people with disabilities …