Halifax-Sandra Walsh was struggling to breathe in his apartment when the temperature in Nova Scotia increased in July, but on social aid, the woman says that her arguments have been ignored for the air conditioner funded by the government.
“With high humidity, it affects my breathing and I panting to air,” said a 46 -year -old woman, recently a progressive lung disease has been diagnosed. “Even taking cold shower continuously, not really helping.”
New Glasgow, resident of NS, is one of the many low -income Canadians, who are struggling to struggle to calm the health status. She wants to buy $ 300 air conditioner, but she will give her very little money for food or medicines.
By Wednesday, Walsh said it had been more than two months since he had asked his income aid Cassworker for money to pay for an air conditioner. He said that he has made the same request every summer since 2020, but has been denied.
Similar struggles that advocates call “right to cooling” are attracting attention across the country.
Groups of tenants argue that AC units are sometimes necessary to prevent disease and death, and some experts are calling for comprehensive solutions that may include public cooling centers.
Last year, another resident of New Glasgow, Julie Leagate won an appeal to an assistant, who decided that the province would have to pay for the air conditioner due to his chronic pain state. But the ruling applies only to the legate.
The Social Development Department of Nova Scotia said that a recent statement has not changed its policy of refusing to cover the cost of air conditioner for low -income people with health status.
A spokesperson of the department said in an email, “In situations where health risks are spoiled by excessive heat, Cassworkers can refer to individuals for local donations such as St. Vincent de Paul or Church.”
Meanwhile, the province states that efficiency Nova Scotia-one non-profit energy conservation utility-zamindars can help buy heat pumps for affordable housing.
Lagett says that these solutions are not always available to the people living in poverty. He said, “The province should not try to pursue their legal obligations on non-profit people, which have already been maximum,” he has written in an email.
In Ottawa, where the temperature rose in mid -July, 75 -year -old apartment dweller Mary Lurdes Garnier said that provincial governments should help the tenants with low -income tenants to buy air conditioners.
He said that his apartment was recently persecuted during the summer wave, saying that in recent weeks she is fainting herself despite constant splashing of cold water on her head.
A spokesman for the Ontario government said that people can apply for an air conditioner on income aid when the municipal or first nation programs allow it. In addition, people with disabilities can apply through Ontario Disabled Support Program. And the city of Toronto recently started offering a pilot program for low -income seniors.
Garnier, who lives on a small pension, is not eligible for these programs as he is not getting income aid.
“This is very expensive to me … (and) I am not talking about comfort (required of AC unit). It is a matter of life and death.”
Last year, a advocacy group for low -income tenants, known as acorn, found that the “negligible ratio” of its membership received public funds to buy an air conditioner or heat pump. Most of the 737 people responding to a survey reported poor sleep, fatigue and headache from excessive indoor heat.
In Monkton, NB, Peter Jongnelane – Vice President of Acorn New Breanswick – said that during a recent summer wave, he was admitted to an ER as he was suffering from heat tiredness.
He said that people living on disability pension need help, “(but) There is no real program in New Breanswick. This is something we want to change.”
Meanwhile, the number of people appearing in emergency rooms with problems related to heat continues to increase. Last month, Health Canada reported that such a case increased from about 600 in 2004 to about 1,100 in 2023.
In the British Columbia, where a “heat dome” caused 600 deaths in summer of 2021, the province committed $ 30 million for a free air conditioner program run by BC Hydro in 2023. Since then, about 27,500 free AC units have been installed, the utility said.
Nevertheless, researcher Liv Yun at the University of British Columbia says the program has faced challenges. For example, some landlords have said that their buildings cannot only support air conditioning.
The co-writer of a report titled “A Right to Cool” said that public cooling centers are required and access to free public transit to reach them. The report also states for the construction of affordable housing which includes passive shed systems to reduce indoor heat.
BC-based urban planner and advisor Alex Boston said that air conditioners may be required for some low-income tenants, but other solutions are often available.
He said in an interview that indoor temperature can be reduced using window shades and fans. He said that simple shading and air movement can reduce indoor temperature by 10 C.
In New Glasgow, Walsh said shades and fans could help.
“But an refusal (help) would mean that I will suffer and will not be able to breathe with extreme heat, which may lead to death,” he said.
This report of Canadian Press was first published on August 6, 2025.
Michael Tutton, Canadian Press