Revision of the Home Equity Assistance Benefit
Topic
Revision of the Home Equity Assistance Benefit
Case numbers
Description
The Committee noted that the Final Authority has steadfastly held for over a decade that Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members should not be subject to potential catastrophic financial repercussions due to forced military relocations and that given the current state of housing markets across Canada, it is foreseeable that significant equity losses may occur such as those seen in Cold Lake. The Committee also observed that despite repeated identification of the issue that continues to impact CAF members, no action has been taken to truly protect against devastating financial losses attributable to an order to relocate, despite the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive undergoing five updates since introduction.
Recommendation
The Committee recommended that the CAF seek approval of revisions to the Home Equity Assistance benefit that fully protects all CAF members from catastrophic home equity losses. As capped maximum benefits tend to not fully address losses over time due to inflation, the Committee recommended consideration be given to a capped loss that may better protect CAF members from catastrophic losses while still encouraging sound and reasoned relocation decisions.