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

Herein lies the problem:

Lets say Building Company X wins the competition to build X number of houses. Immediately Company Y sues because they lost fair and square. THEN its bogged down for years and fuck all gets built.
I know on Vancouver Island many contractors are refusing to bid on Base construction because of all the red tape and BS they have to deal with. they do not need the work if it comes with all paperwork, and waiting around red tape crap that is happening. Some Engineer in Ottawa approving and designing projects to which they do not know local building codes or markets, while limiting access to dig, replace, repair as part of the job. Sorry If I was a contractor I would tell the DND to pound sand also as it is not profitable to be the lowest bidder with your staff standing around for a hour until the MPs send a escort or Base CE sends one to go do a 5 minute fix on the other side of the wall that is in a secure room.
 
I know on Vancouver Island many contractors are refusing to bid on Base construction because of all the red tape and BS they have to deal with. they do not need the work if it comes with all paperwork, and waiting around red tape crap that is happening. Some Engineer in Ottawa approving and designing projects to which they do not know local building codes or markets, while limiting access to dig, replace, repair as part of the job. Sorry If I was a contractor I would tell the DND to pound sand also as it is not profitable to be the lowest bidder with your staff standing around for a hour until the MPs send a escort or Base CE sends one to go do a 5 minute fix on the other side of the wall that is in a secure room.

Yes, I think the supply and demand situation is such that developers can go with the easier to manage work. Lots of housing starts here recently, to the point where it's really hard to source building materials, concrete etc.


CPABC: Greater Victoria housing starts surge past previous record​


In total, 4,809 units began construction in Greater Victoria throughout 2021, up from the 3,209 units started in 2020. The previous record for the region was 4,273 in 2018.

Both the number of detached and attached units, such as condos, townhomes, and apartments, were up considerably. In 2021, 3,815 attached units began construction, up 58.6 per cent compared to in 2020. Detached starts reached 994 in 2021, an increase of 23.6 per cent compared to 2020.

“In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in housing starts in Greater Victoria, but that was very short-lived. Given the lack of affordable housing in the city and surrounding areas, this increase in housing supply is critical,” noted Brougham. “Ongoing major project activity was also robust in 2021.”

 
I've only been on a couple of bases, but it seems that every PMQ/RHU that I have ever seen was built in the 1950s, except one Pinetree Line station that was all trailers (even better!)
 
No other business on the face of the planet does that, so why should the CAF?
Every business that has moved their operations overseas disagrees with you. Businesses move, they don't necessarily move their employees... The CAF doesn't really have that option.
 
Every business that has moved their operations overseas disagrees with you. Businesses move, they don't necessarily move their employees... The CAF doesn't really have that option.
And the same time the CAF has small effect on the housing market nationally when you have 60k people have to buy and sell on 4 year cycles (yes I know it's a continuous cycle) programs like defense community banking would not be needed if we had enough housing internally.
 
And the same time the CAF has small effect on the housing market nationally when you have 60k people have to buy and sell on 4 year cycles (yes I know it's a continuous cycle) programs like defense community banking would not be needed if we had enough housing internally.
Defense Community Banking has existed in some for a long time(two decades I think), essentially every national bank wants a shot at ~100K government employee's pay...

The CAF has a small impact in places like Ottawa, Kingston, Halifax, etc., but in towns like Oromocto, the posting cycle is a significant factor in housing prices.

The CAF shat the bed when it decided to abandon RHUs, and barracks/apartments. It was a penny-wise, but pound-foolish decision made when it was "impossible" to lose money buying a house 20 years ago. The people who made the decisions are long since retired, so the people in charge today are now left holding the bag.

If the CAF had been even remotely smart back in the last recession, it would have invested in modern "living in" barracks, and apartments at all of its bases, as well as pushed CFHA to build more RHUs. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, but too many of the bosses have been ignoring the problem while "cashing in" on each subsequent posting. If have to listen to another MWO/CWO brag about how much they made on their latest posting I might end up on CTV news...
 
Defense Community Banking has existed in some for a long time(two decades I think), essentially every national bank wants a shot at ~100K government employee's pay...

The CAF has a small impact in places like Ottawa, Kingston, Halifax, etc., but in towns like Oromocto, the posting cycle is a significant factor in housing prices.

The CAF shat the bed when it decided to abandon RHUs, and barracks/apartments. It was a penny-wise, but pound-foolish decision made when it was "impossible" to lose money buying a house 20 years ago. The people who made the decisions are long since retired, so the people in charge today are now left holding the bag.

If the CAF had been even remotely smart back in the last recession, it would have invested in modern "living in" barracks, and apartments at all of its bases, as well as pushed CFHA to build more RHUs. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, but too many of the bosses have been ignoring the problem while "cashing in" on each subsequent posting. If have to listen to another MWO/CWO brag about how much they made on their latest posting I might end up on CTV news...
Short term solution, those tiny houses made from old seacans to help homeless vets? Buy 10k of them prefab. Any single pte, cpl and Jr officer can rent them, and give them an on site storage unit for their kit. Then start building proper housing, have actual goals and start firing people of targets are grossly not reached
 
Short term solution, those tiny houses made from old seacans to help homeless vets? Buy 10k of them prefab. Any single pte, cpl and Jr officer can rent them, and give them an on site storage unit for their kit. Then start building proper housing, have actual goals and start firing people of targets are grossly not reached

There are loads of mid-lower quality hotels/motels around. Why not just buy them and fix them up.
 
There are loads of mid-lower quality hotels/motels around. Why not just buy them and fix them up.
Pre fab homes would allow you to centralize them on one plot of land. Lots of companies make them too.
 
And the same time the CAF has small effect on the housing market nationally when you have 60k people have to buy and sell on 4 year cycles (yes I know it's a continuous cycle) programs like defense community banking would not be needed if we had enough housing internally.
It's not a 4 year cycle.

Once you remove off BTL and IPR moves, it's at most a 7-8 year average... Some are static for decades, others every year or two.
 
It's not a 4 year cycle.

Once you remove off BTL and IPR moves, it's at most a 7-8 year average... Some are static for decades, others every year or two.
The every 4 years has almost become one of those myths like no coverage by VAC for not wearing issued gear or Generals negotiate their salaries.
 
It's not a 4 year cycle.

Once you remove off BTL and IPR moves, it's at most a 7-8 year average... Some are static for decades, others every year or two.

Static, as in a geographic area for your F&E doesn't mean a static career. I just want to make sure that's clear.
 
The every 4 years has almost become one of those myths like no coverage by VAC for not wearing issued gear or Generals negotiate their salaries.

Agreed. Postings are now usually the knock on effect of a promotion. Not just because someone has been at CFB XXX for some ambiguous number of years.
 
Static you say? 7 or 8 years you say? I did 4 moves in 8 years. Technically I did 5 moves in 9 years really, but I won't really count moving my F&E (really just bedroom furniture) from my parent's place to my live-off residence for my last year at RMC as an actual "move".
 
Static you say? 7 or 8 years you say? I did 4 moves in 8 years. Technically I did 5 moves in 9 years really, but I won't really count moving my F&E (really just bedroom furniture) from my parent's place to my live-off residence for my last year at RMC as an actual "move".
A data point of one is not that meaningful, across the CAF the average is higher likely along the along the lines of what @dapaterson posted. You are RCN don't tell me there aren't tons of folks that have lived in one coast for the majority of their careers :)

Absolutely some move more than others, in some cases it is the path that they are on for their particular MOSID and rank(s). A succession planned Officer/NCO will likely move more often than the average person for instance. That doesn't take away from the fact that many folks do not move all that often
 
Does everyone else also remember what happened during the period when DND moved away from RHUs and other on base housing? I may be wrong, but I think we saw exponential growth in salaries at the same time. TBS giveth with one hand, and taketh away with the other. Once CAF members started getting paid on par, or better than, the average Joe civilian in their community, there was an expectation they also start paying the same for housing and services.
 
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