The leader of the provincial NDP is slamming Premier Tim Houston over his comments on the homeless situation, now that we have had our first snowfall of the season.

Houston told reporters there is more work to be done and the sad reality is, some people will sleep outside this winter.

Claudia Chender said the idea that Houston is ok with that, is unconscionable.

“When he was asked whether people would be sleeping in tents this winter and he said ‘yes’…and he made it sound like it was a choice,” Chender said.

Chender said the very simple solution to people sleeping outside, is to offer them housing.

Municipal staff says there were at least 200 people living outside in mid-October, with that number expected to grow over the coming months and over 1,000 names looking for stable housing.

A new 50-bed shelter is coming to HRM, but the government still won’t say where it is going.

Other initiatives to combat homelessness include 52 tiny home units coming to Lower Sackville.