# 2019-305 Pay and Benefits, Home Equity Assistance Program

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-05-05

The grievor was posted from Cold Lake, Alberta, in August 2018. However, on 19 April 2018, revisions to the Canadian Forces Integrated Relocation Program (CFIRP) Directive came into effect, removing the option to apply for 100% Home Equity Assistance (HEA) reimbursement from the Core envelope for homes sold in a depressed market area. The grievor's home sold in November 2018 and he suffered an equity loss in excess of $100,000. The grievor argued that he purchased his home with the protection of the previous HEA depressed market clause in mind and suggested that all loses over $30,000 should be considered on a case-by-case basis. As redress, he sought the full reimbursement of his equity loss.

The Initial Authority (IA) found that, on 17 July 2018, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) declared that houses sold in Cold Lake after 18 April 2018 would be subject to the revised version of the CFIRP Directive HEA policy which no longer considered the depressed market status. The IA denied the grievance, finding that the grievor's home sold after 18 April 2018 and could not be administered under the previous CFIRP version.

The Committee first considered whether the grievor had a vested right to be administered under the previous CFIRP version but found that he would have had to sell his house before 19 April 2018 to have locked-in a vested right. The Committee then noted that in an interview given by the Director of Compensation and Benefits Administration (DCBA) to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in May 2018, the DCBA stated that the intent of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was to address catastrophic home equity losses using a “caveat” found in the CFIRP Directive. DCBA staff advised the Committee that the “caveat” was CFIRP Directive article 2.1.01. The Committee found that CFIRP Directive article 2.1.01 did apply to the grievor in that his issue was directly related to his relocation, and the extent of his equity loss was exceptional in nature. The Committee recommended that the Final Authority direct DCBA to forward the grievor's claim for full reimbursement of his equity loss to the TBS with the full support of the CAF.