1. The year in review from the Chief Executive Officer - Canadian Forces Housing Agency Annual Report 2019-2020

I am proud of the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) that is comprised of a team of individuals who each contribute to and collectively ensure that military members and their families have a place to call home. The Special Operating Agency has been providing residential accommodation solutions for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and turning houses into homes for CAF members and their families for over 24 years.

In 2019-2020, our mission focus continued as it has been for over two decades, being motivated to providing the best possible housing solutions and services to those who serve our country. The Department of National Defence residential housing program continued to contribute to the quality of life of CAF members, helped build resilient families, and ultimately enabled CAF operational readiness. Resilient families are strong families.

I am honoured to present CFHA’s achievements which were realized in no small part due to the support of Defence Team enabling organizations including the Assistant Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment) and the Military Personnel Command, as well as from the outstanding work and dedication of CFHA employees that put their best effort daily to enable our strategic outcomes. This year we invested over $118.5M in the modernization of the housing portfolio and associated housing services; touching 5,180 of the 11,673 houses in our portfolio or some 44%. Our investments included 59 complete whole house recapitalizations, smaller interior renovations (119 bathrooms and 99 kitchens) and in the construction of 12 new Residential Housing Units (RHU).

The investments in the housing portfolio enabled the implementation of Canada’s Defence Policy: Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE), initiative 104B: Improve Housing for CAF Personnel. Likewise, CFHA engagements with departmental stakeholders resulted in the potential for innovative new housing services in support of initiative 24: Develop a Comprehensive Military Family Plan to stabilize family life for CAF members and their families who frequently have to relocate.

In our commitment to Canada’s future and Government of Canada greening government priorities, we applied energy efficiency standards to all new builds and renovations. This created a direct impact on our occupants by having more comfortable houses and lower energy costs. In the last year, we received three Green Globe certifications for energy efficiency. This will also enable CFHA to meet targets that contribute to key environmental and energy improvements as outlined in the Defence Energy and Environment Strategy (DEES).

The Agency’s ingrained culture of persistent improvement in service delivery continued to be at the core of how we delivered the housing program. Input from the CAF and CAF members was at the root of business decision-making, and we worked diligently to ensure that we were able to meet their housing expectations. Last year we formalized a Statement Corporate Social Responsibility. We recognized our responsibility to promote the public interest through balanced and sustainable operations. We focused on the following four priority areas across the Agency:

• ensuring that our operations protect the environment and people
• conducting our business with the highest level of integrity
• building a sustained, supportive, and inclusive workforce and workplace
• contributing to the communities where we live and work

In an assessment of our organizational culture, we were unified and defined by one overarching word – Commitment. Our organizational success is founded in our commitment to our mandate and mission, our occupants, our CAF clients, and to each other.

As a capstone, our commitment to Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW) was recognized by Excellence Canada (EC) by achieving certification at the platinum level and being a recipient of a Canada Award for Excellence (CAE). The CAE is EC’s eminent award for organizational excellence. Striving to always achieve more for the members that we serve, CFHA will continue to focus on its Excellence journey by concentrating on its strengths and opportunities to advance the customer experience and work towards the Order of Excellence in the EIW standard.

David Thompson
Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Forces Housing Agency