Rent Hikes on Rundown Military Housing May Cease says Jay Hill
Petition Campaign and ‘Persistence’ Finally Capture Minister’s Attention

November 16, 2004

Ottawa – Jay Hill, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River, said today that a conversation in the House of Commons with Minister of National Defence Bill Graham has given him hope that Canada’s military families will soon see relief from steep rent hikes on their poorly-insulated, mould-infested on-base housing.

“The Minister was in the House yesterday when I presented for the thirteenth time in this new Parliament another petition from Canadians who’ve rallied around our soldiers demanding the federal government stop raising the rent on these dilapidated homes,” said Hill. “Immediately afterwards, I approached the Minister in his seat to discuss the condition of these military housing units, some which would be deemed unfit for occupation by health and safety authorities if they weren’t located on federal property.”

The Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA), the landlord for nearly 17,000 houses and apartments on military bases across Canada, has been increasing the monthly rent on many of its units by roughly $100 each year to bring them on par with rental markets in the surrounding communities. The last increase was imposed November 1 st.

In October 2003, Hill helped launch a petition campaign demanding the government stop hiking the rents until improvements to the units’ condition have been undertaken. Soldiers’ families have reported food freezing in the cupboards, hazardous black mould on the walls, boil-water orders and a litany of other structural problems with the units.

“A private landlord would find it difficult to rent out units like this, let alone increase the monthly rent by a hundred bucks each year,” Hill pointed out. “I will continue to present the petitions between now and Christmas, even though they seem to have finally caught the Minister’s attention, and he indicated he’s in agreement with the petitioners.”

Hill concluded, “These units are a necessity for soldiers, who must uproot their families every few years, to quickly mobilize for missions. I hope the Minister can successfully convince the President of the Treasury Board to re-examine the substandard living conditions of our military families. The morale of the under-funded Canadian Forces needs a well-deserved boost.”

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For more information, please contact:
Jay Hill, M.P. (613) 947-4524 or (250) 787-1194