Another way our government is screwing soldiers

The Canadian military has a home-equity assistance program available to military members who move frequently and run the risk of taking a bath on the sale of their properties. Compensation is supposed to be available when a member has to transfer (not by choice) and sells a home in a depressed housing market.

A 24-year veteran of the Canadian military is taking the federal government to court to recover the $88,000 he lost on his home when he was posted from Edmonton to Halifax and all he got was $15,000. Even though the military agreed he was entitled to have his losses covered, the Treasury Board said no, only because they didn't classify the area as a depressed housing market. He paid $405,000 for a house when he was posted to Edmonton in 2007. In 2010, when he tried to sell his home again on being posted to Halifax, he was only able to get $317,000. This was mostly due to a glut of homes on the market in Bon Accord after the cancellation of local area industrial projects.

Military members cannot wait indefinitely for a better offer when being posted and selling their home. There are many people in this situation in our military. They are declaring bankruptcy and losing their marriages as a result of these rulings. Some soldiers are looking to online donations to help bail them out. Records released last year show that between 2007 and 2010, 146 applications involving tens of thousands of dollars each were rejected by the Treasury Board, despite having the support of National Defence.