After homeless man dies in Halifax encampment, lawyer keeps up fight for benefits – Halifax

A Nova Scotia lawyer says a homeless client who died in an encampment last month had been fighting for improved income assistance for people living in tents.

Vince Calderhead was representing Bradley Lowe in a case before the province’s Assistance Appeal Board to have Lowe’s monthly payment raised.

Lowe was receiving $380 but had argued he was eligible for $950, the standard household rate for people with disabilities.

Calderhead says that a tent should be considered an “accommodation” and allow someone to be eligible for the same amount of financial aid as would a more traditional home.

Lowe had been living in an ice-fishing tent at the Victoria Park encampment in Halifax, but was visiting the encampment on the Grand Parade in the city’s downtown when he died Dec. 15.

Calderhead says he expects to hear soon if the appeal board will continue to hear the case, adding that Lowe’s four-year-old son could receive retroactive payments if the application is successful.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.