On October 1, 2024, Regional Council directed staff to incorporate amendments to meet the Minimum Planning Requirements as part of the ongoing Regional Plan review. As part of this direction, the municipality ran a 30-day public engagement period to notify residents of the upcoming changes.

On June 19, 2025, Regional Council held a public hearing on the proposed Regional Plan and amendment package, including Minimum Planning Requirements, and approved the documents. These were subsequently sent to the Provincial Planning Director for approval, as required under Section 223 of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

Pursuant to Section 223 (3) of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, the Provincial Director of Planning advised the municipality on July 10, 2025, that they had completed their review of the Regional Plan. This review identified that Regional Plan policies may be inconsistent with provincial interests.

As a result, the decision was referred to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, with the Minister having 30 days to render a decision, pursuant to Section 223 (6). Under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, in rendering a decision, the Minister can either (a) approve all or part of the documents; (b) approve the documents with amendments; or (c) refuse to approve the documents.

On Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, the Halifax Regional Municipality received a letter from the Province of Nova Scotia’s Minister of Municipal Affairs in response to the municipality’s submission of the updated Regional Plan. The 2025 Regional Plan and new proposed amendments, including amendments addressing the minimum planning requirements legislation, were not approved by the province.

This means that the current 2014 Regional Plan, last amended in May 2025, remains in effect, as the new proposed amendments have not been approved by the province. The municipality is still required to implement the provincial Minimum Planning Requirements.