New funds for military include help with housing

Using available land on military bases for direly needed homes for military personnel can help solve Canada’s housing crunch.

The Chamber is currently crafting a policy resolution on this solution for our national network to take to the federal government. This week, we heard good news from the feds. The defence policy update titled Our North, Strong and Free includes almost $300 million for Canadian Armed Forces Housing over 20 years.

“Chamber members tell us one of the biggest hurdles for finding and keeping workers is the cost of housing in Greater Victoria,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “We have thousands of Armed Forces personnel in our region, and providing more, quality housing on CFB Esquimalt land will free up homes off base for other workers.”

The update announced a total of $8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over the next two decades to bring Canada closer to its NATO commitment.