# 2021-083 Pay and Benefits, Home Equity Assistance Program

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-07-21

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 relocated from Cold Lake, Alberta in July 2019. The grievor's home in Cold Lake sold in September 2019 with an equity loss of approximately $98,000. The grievor was reimbursed $30,000 from the Core funding envelope. The grievor sought reimbursement of the remaining equity loss under the previous CFIRP Directive, and also asked for interest to be paid.

The Initial Authority (IA), the Director General Compensation and Benefits, 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 contained the depressed market benefit. The IA denied the grievance, finding that the grievor's home sold after 18 April 2018 and that it could not be administered under the previous CFIRP Directive.

The Committee first considered whether the grievor had a vested right to be administered under the previous CFIRP Directive but found that the house would have had to be sold before 19 April 2018 in order to have locked-in a vested right.

The Committee noted an interview given by the Director of Compensation and Benefits Administration (DCBA) to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in May 2018, where 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 later advised the Committee that the “caveat” referred to was the CFIRP Directive article 2.1.01. The Committee found that CFIRP Directive article 2.1.01 did apply to the grievor's case given that the expense was directly related to the relocation and the extent of the equity loss was exceptional in nature.

The Committee also observed that taxation of the current $30,000 HEA maximum reimbursement from Core serves to reduce the benefit received by the grievor. Noting that taxation is governed by the Income Tax Act, the Committee recommended that the CAF and the TBS pursue a reduction in this tax burden on military members.

Finally, the Committee found that there is no regulation providing for payment of interest to the grievor. The Committee recommended that the Final Authority (FA) direct the DCBA to forward the grievor's claim for full reimbursement of the equity loss to the TBS with the full support of the CAF.

FA decision summary

The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation. He determined that the grievor was aggrieved, and in accordance with article 2.1.01 of the CFIRP Directive, he directed that Chief of Military Personnel (CMP) ensure the grievor's request for 100% reimbursement of the loss of equity from the sale of his residence in Cold Lake is submitted to the Treasury Board (TB) for approval with the CDS full support.

The CDS noted that based on previous direction on this matter, TB and the Director Compensation and Benefits Administration (DCBA) have been in consultation to discuss the situation affecting CAF members who sold their residences at a loss in Cold Lake. As a result, TB directed DCBA to initiate a market study assessing the periods of 2014-2018 and 2018-2020. The study remains ongoing as of March 2022. Barring this and anticipating limited flexibility to address the lack of a catastrophic loss clause, the CDS offered that - in future - should losses over $30K be anticipated by a CAF member, that a member's branch leadership be mandated to explore and implement alternate Active posting season courses of action to negate the potential for long-term financial impact to the CAF families, to include remote virtual work potential as well as possible posting cancellations. The CDS directed CMP to investigate a mechanism through which to implement this CAF- centric approach quickly, be that through Canadian Forces General Messages or similar order to ensure rapid, consistent implementation across the forces.