N.S. municipal politicians weigh in on whether AI can speed up housing approvals

Detailed summary

Municipal politicians in Nova Scotia are reacting after the federal government pitched artificial intelligence as a way of speeding up housing approvals.

Municipal politicians in Nova Scotia are reacting after the federal government pitched artificial intelligence as a way of speeding up housing approvals.

The recent federal budget included $100 million to help communities adopt the AI technology, but many questions remain around how it will be implemented.

“AI, I think at the municipal level, it could be beneficial,” said Halifax District 5 Coun. Sam Austin.

“I think we also have to be cautious it doesn’t replace the human eye approval.”

The $100 million commitment would be spread over three years and be dedicated to helping municipalities adopt AI into their housing permitting processes. The initiative aims to reduce what can sometimes be a tedious workload.

“I wouldn’t want to go to an AI just automatically approving a permit and issuing it without without a human somewhere in there saying, ‘Yes, this is correct,'” he said.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore says he’s interested in seeing how these digital supports will help.

In a statement, he says “this is about giving our professional staff better administrative tools to do their jobs more effectively and productively — not replacing their expertise and judgement on planning decisions.”

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is spearheading the project. The federation’s president, Tim Tierney, says AI will help communities cut back on lengthy permitting delays.

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