Probe found no unhoused Armed Forces members in Nova Scotia: DND

Canada’s military says it has not identified any active-duty Armed Forces members who are unhoused or living precariously in Nova Scotia in an apparent repudiation of concerns raised by local outreach workers about military personnel living in tents, vehicles and couch surfing.

The Department of National Defence (DND) says its Maritime Forces Atlantic division launched a process to verify and confirm housing conditions for military personnel following reports of homeless Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members in the province.

These kinds of welfare checks are done on a regular basis, the department says, but this one started as soon as the recent concerns were raised.

Through these checks, DND says it can “confirm” none of its members “have reported back or been identified to be living unhoused,” DND media relations officer Frédérica Dupuis told SaltWire in an email.

Officials also did not find anyone who reported to be living in precarious housing situations, she added.

“Any time a situation is brought forward involving a member experiencing issues with housing, it is taken very seriously and addressed swiftly, with respect and dignity,” Dupuis said.

“No one will be left to live in difficult conditions and the CAF will always work with its members to develop and offer solutions.”

The issue came to light two weeks ago, when representatives from several groups that provide community-level supports and services to members of the Armed Forces and to veterans were invited to a legislative standing committee to provide insight into how the province’s cost-of-living crisis is affecting members and veterans.

They raised concerns about active-duty personnel living in tents or vehicles, couch surfing and entering or staying in relationships to secure housing that placed them at risk of domestic violence.

Craig Hood, executive director of the Royal Canadian Legion Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command, said there is an “epidemic” of precarious housing and need among serving members and veterans in the province.

In addition to concerns of people “living rough” and precariously, those fortunate enough to find housing are increasingly needing help with basic needs, Hood told MLAs on Dec. 19.

“We’re supporting them with financial assistance, whether that be to top up their oil or help pay an electrical bill, or whatever it is just to get them from one paycheck to the next,” he said.

“And those are the best-case scenarios.”

Erica Fleck, who works with the Halifax Regional Municipality, testified as a volunteer with several groups who work with military personnel and veterans that she, too, is aware of working CAF members living precariously due to the high cost of housing and the inability to find available housing in Nova Scotia.

“We have active-serving regular Force members who are still couchsurfing that were posted here in the summer, they cannot find a place to live. They’re regularly now going to food banks,” Fleck told the committee.

Some members who work in HRM are forced to accept housing in areas far from the city, such as Truro, the Annapolis Valley and close to Cape Breton, as they can’t find anything available or affordable closer to their employment, she said.

“Young soldiers are coming to work hungry and leaders are trying to feed them as best they can, using their own money,” Fleck said.

“It’s heartbreaking that these are the people (who), currently, their primary job is to defend our country, and they can’t afford to live here.”

Gregory Lick, Canada’s military ombudsman, told SaltWire on Dec. 21 he has also heard concerns from military families and individuals from Nova Scotia and across Canada about hardships they’re facing due to a lack of available and affordable housing.

The issue of housing precarity is particularly pronounced for Armed Forces members because of the prevalence of mandatory transfers from base to base, Lick noted.

While the federal department has not identified anyone who has reported being unhoused or living precariously, DND is “imploring” any members facing difficulty with housing to report to their chain of command, Dupuis said.

“We will work with them to find solutions while safeguarding their privacy and dignity.”

The department pointed to steps it has taken to ensure military personnel have access to adequate housing, including programs that provide funds for relocation expenses and a new “housing differential” monthly payment for those who need help securing housing.

It also listed multi-year funding commitments made over the last few years to the Canadian Forces Housing Authority totalling $70 million to improve and expand military housing on bases.

However, MPs on a House of Commons committee studying housing needs on and around military bases in Canada were told by senior DND officials that fewer than 40 new housing units have been built in the last two years.

Federal Conservative defence critic James Bezan told SaltWire he believes situations in which CAF members face homelessness and hunger are “morally bankrupt.”

“Conservatives have heard firsthand from CAF members who are living in their cars and in tents due to the shortage of affordable housing caused by the Trudeau government,” Bezan said in a statement Tuesday.

“Shockingly, the Liberals are building less than 20 new homes per year for our troops.”

As of Oct. 26, 4,500 members were on the waiting list for military-owned housing, with 1,398 of these applicants on the “priority-one” wait list, meaning they do not have an alternative housing solution, according to DND data.