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Post by Terminator Thu 04 Apr 2019, 4:58 pm


Canadian Forces urged to contact Habitat for Humanity amid housing crunch

By Lee Berthiaume The Canadian Press
Posted May 23, 2022



An email encouraging members of the Canadian Armed Forces to consider contacting Habitat for Humanity if they can’t find affordable housing is casting a spotlight on a growing challenge facing many military personnel and their families.

The email was sent by a senior officer at 19 Wing Comox to other members at the Royal Canadian Air Force base on northern Vancouver Island, which is home to the military’s search-and-rescue school as well as several squadrons of aircraft.

“Further to our discussion this morning, one potential housing option for our folks is Habitat for Humanity,” said the email dated May 5. “Should this be of interest to any of your personnel, please have them review the information located here.”


The email, confirmed as authentic by the Department of National Defence, included a link and contact information for the charity’s northern Vancouver Island chapter along with a list of criteria to apply for a home.

Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said members were not being directed to Habitat for Humanity, but rather that it was being presented as an option to those having “significant difficulty” finding housing.

“To the best of our knowledge,” she added, “this has not been an option presented or explored by CAF members in other regions of the country.”

But the email has highlighted growing complaints and concerns about the impact that skyrocketing home and rental prices are having on members of Canada’s Armed Forces – and Ottawa’s repeated failure to provide enough military housing.


Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre warned last month that his troops were feeling the bite of escalating housing prices and other costs of living as a result of their unique lifestyles, which include constant moves throughout their careers.

At the same time, Eyre lamented a shortage of military housing, saying: “Now we’re somewhere in the neighbourhood of 4,000 to 6,000 units short on our bases, which is also accentuating the housing problem.”

Online forums are rife with Armed Forces members discussing the current housing crunch, with some on the verge of moving desperate for advice on how to find affordable accommodation in markets where even rental prices are sky high.

While several Armed Forces members contacted by The Canadian Press declined to comment because they did not have permission to conduct an interview, realtors say they have seen firsthand the stress that many troops and their families are facing.

“The last couple years have been exceptionally, exceptionally tough for them,” said realtor Tracy Fogtmann, who works with military families relocating to the Comox area. “I’ve been in the business for 19 years and have never seen anything like this.”


The situation is similar in other military communities such as Kingston, Ont., where broker Luca Andolfatto has seen the stress many troops, their families and even their realtors are feeling.

“It’s a lot of stress and a lot of pressure both on the personnel themselves and on the realtors,” said Andolfatto, who has worked with military families for 34 years. “Anyone who isn’t ranked as an officer would find it a struggle.”

Jeff West is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North. He said the charity has had a long-standing working relationship with 19 Wing Comox, with Armed Forces members having previously volunteered to build local homes for those in need.

While he could not say exactly how the May 5 email came about, West suspected it had to do with a recent meeting the organization had with a senior officer.

“I think basically what happened is we went out and talked to him about what we’re up to, just maintaining contact, and this email came out of the leadership,” he said.

While unable to say for sure whether any of the 39 local Habitat for Humanity homes built since 2004 have gone to military members, West said he was not aware of any such arrangements to date.

But he acknowledged a “housing crisis” is affecting both military and non-military families in the area.


The Armed Forces has actually advised service members against buying a home, warning in March that some bases are located in “unpredictable and seemingly inflated housing markets,” and that a price correction was expected.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported in February that “rental affordability continues to pose a significant challenge across the country.”

Andolfatto can testify to that reality in Kingston.

“Some of our rents here I daresay are stronger than some of the rents you’d find in the GTA,” he said. “I’d say going to rent is just as problematic, and actually even more challenging.”

Many bases have military housing. But even as internal Defence Department assessments have repeatedly asserted since 2017 that at least 5,000 more units are needed to meet the military’s growing requirements, the number of homes owned by government has steadily decreased for years.


The Defence Department says the Canadian Forces Housing Agency has proposed a plan to build 1,300 new units over a 10-year period and consider “alternate delivery options” such as leases and public-private partnerships for the rest.

Four years after that plan was first raised, however, only 16 units are under construction and none have been finished.

Meanwhile, an internal review published in December warned that at current funding levels, the CFHA has not been able to properly maintain the 12,000 units now in its portfolio, with nearly one in five rated as “below average.”

Not all members of the Armed Forces are struggling, including those whose required moves resulted in them buying or selling at the right time or place, said Canadian Forces College professor Alan Okros.

The military also offers a number of benefits to help offset costs.

But Okros said there’s no denying some troops are having difficulty, and that the issue is emerging as an important factor in retaining personnel.

“The CAF is so short of people,” he said. “It becomes: `Do you really want to lose somebody by posting them from an inexpensive to an expensive city, which basically forces them to quit rather than take the move?’”

Back in Comox, Fogtmann continues trying to match incoming service members with new homes for themselves and their families.

“But it’s really stressful,” she said. “My heart goes out to them.”







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Post by OutlawSoldier Tue 04 Oct 2022, 7:06 am


Nearly 4,500 Canadian Armed Forces members, families waiting for military housing

Only 132 military housing units built in the past 5 years

Lee Berthiaume · The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 03, 2022



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Post by Masefield Tue 21 Mar 2023, 8:19 pm



Military expecting to save $30M per year with targeted housing benefit for troops

Published March 21, 2023



Housing Canadian-armed-forces-1-6322635-1679427121045






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Post by Zapper Sun 26 Mar 2023, 8:10 pm



Military under fire as thousands of troops face lost cost-of-living allowance

Published March 26, 2023



Housing Caf-1-6329751-1679858702670


OTTAWA - The Canadian Armed Forces is under fire for its plan to cut thousands of troops off a cost-of-living allowance without much notice.
The military announced last week that about 7,700 Armed Forces members will no longer receive the top-up starting in July, when it will be replaced by a new housing benefit that commanders say will better assist those who need the most help.

Social media and online forums dedicated to military personnel have been crackling with dissatisfaction over the plan, including the abbreviated timeline. Some are also unhappy with a new 10 per cent pay increase over four years, retroactive to 2021.


Experts say the lack of notice speaks to larger problems around how the military treats its people, which they worry is sparking anger and frustration at a time when the Canadian Armed Forces is struggling with a recruitment and retention crisis.

"We're pissing people off," said retired lieutenant-general Guy Thibault, who previously served as vice-chief of the defence staff. "And this may be the final straw that pisses them off. It's not really about compensation. It's just that they're not feeling valued."

The decision to replace the military's existing cost-of-living allowance with a new housing benefit follows a 14-year battle between the Department of National Defence and Treasury Board, the central department that controls federal spending.

Established in 2000 as a way to compensate members for the added costs of having to live and work in certain communities, the allowance rates were frozen in 2009 as defence and treasury officials fought over the program's cost and parameters.

Canadian Forces College professor Alan Okros said members were led to believe that that when a deal was finally struck, it would finally raise rates and expand eligibility as troops living in some parts of the country did not qualify.

"There was a generalized tone and expectation of, 'Look, we're working on it. ... We're going to sort it all out,"' said Okros, who specializes in military personnel and culture. "There was this generalized expectation of, 'It's going to be much better."'

Such expectations were predicated on the belief that the government would put more money into the pot to compensate troops for their service, particularly given that the Armed Forces is currently dealing with a recruitment and retention crisis.

That didn't happen. Instead, the military says the new housing benefit is both more equitable and more efficient than the previous allowance as it is tied to salary, includes more geographic locations, and will cost about $30 million less per year.

Charlotte Duval-Lantoine, an expert on military culture at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank, said some members who were receiving the cost-of-living allowance would have accounted for that money in their budgetary planning.

"This is the distinction that frustrates people the most, because some of them will not be eligible in this (new benefit) even though they're struggling in terms of their cost of living," she said. "There's going to be a readjustment for people."

The fact it is being taken away in a matter of months without any previous consultation or warning speaks to problems with how the chain of command treats and communicates with its troops, she added.

"It's kind of emblematic of the way that we talk about personnel policy and how the military communicates (with) its personnel," she said. "It's always big announcements. And then we don't hear about it for years on end. Then there's a new announcement."

The housing benefit has also come under scrutiny, with concerns about the actual rates being based on the cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment without consideration for family size. There's also a seven-year cap on receiving the benefit in one location.

Members are also complaining that the new pay increase does not keep up with inflation.

The new benefit and pay increase have nonetheless sparked a bit of a debate over compensation for military personnel, with some arguing troops are relatively well paid and most Canadians are facing some sort of economic pressure.

"We've got a pretty well-paid force, not only against other allied forces or volunteer forces, but against the general population," said Thibault, who is now chair of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute think tank.

"In terms of where we're going with the economy, it's not unique to the Canadian Forces. It's a societal problem right now with interest rates, with inflation, with the economy, with housing."

Rather, experts feel the reaction is more symptomatic of bigger problems as the Armed Forces faces growing demands while struggling with a shortage of personnel, old equipment, and efforts to radically overhaul its culture.

"Our government and Canadians, they seem to care for the Canadian Forces," Thibault said. "But not care enough about them to make it a priority, or to address some of these longstanding problems."


This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2023.







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Post by Stanleyz Tue 08 Aug 2023, 11:22 am



Canadian Armed Forces to phase out old housing benefit over three years

Published Aug. 7, 2023


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