New armed forces housing benefit won't help Petawawa troops, realtor warns
A change to the Canadian Armed Forces housing benefit will see thousands more members partially compensated for housing.
However, in Petawawa there's a sense this change will have little impact.
"I would say that about 80 per cent of the transactions in our office are about military transferees," Pembroke and Petawawa based Re/Max realtor Cynthia Lloyd says.
The new housing benefit, named the Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD), was created to give relief to the lowest earners in the ranks. As armed forces members move up the pay scale, the less they will be compensated for housing.
"The greater assistance goes to those who don't make as much, and so therefore have a larger gap that they are facing to try and afford basic accommodation," said Brigadier-General Virginia Tattersall, Director General of Compensation and Benefits with the Canadian military.
"The idea is that for their gross monthly salary they are not paying more than 25 per cent of their budget on housing."
"We are an affordable location compared to other bases," Lloyd says. "So say for instance Ottawa or Borden or even Trenton, it is more affordable here in Petawawa."
Based on that affordability, armed forces members in the Ottawa Valley on only the three lowest pay levels will be able to claim the benefit. The pay levels range from level 1 (lowest earners) to level 20 (highest earners).
Regular force, Class B reserves, and Class C reserves on the three lowest levels can claim the benefit. Those members living in Petawawa on level 1 can claim up to $950 a month, level 2 up to $600 a month, and level 3 up to $150 a month.
The new housing benefit is seen by some as a way of recruiting new members to a severely under-staffed force.
"The military needs highly motivated members and one of the ways it can make sure members are motivated is that especially at the younger ages, at the more junior levels where people join, that they have adequate financial means," says Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College and Queen's University.
"The housing benefit urgently needed an overhaul, like so many other policies in this department."
The previous benefit, known as post living differential (PLD), had been frozen since 2009 and had been described as a one-size-fits-all approach.
But Lloyd says despite the new assistance, it won't help much for members coming to the Ottawa Valley.
"We're in a very undersupplied market," Lloyd tells CTV News.
"So we are already at an under supply of homes for sale. So I don't think that making it more affordable on the monthly will change the market conditions here in Petawawa."
The CFHD expires after seven years for stationary members. CAF members who are consistently posted around the country will remain eligible. However, members who stay in one location - such as Petawawa - for longer than seven years will lose the benefit after that time.
"In that seven years, we expect that there's a greater likelihood that they will get promoted or move up in pay incentives," Tattersall says.
The new Canadian Forces Housing Differential comes into effect July 1, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.