Minister, when you appeared before us this time last year, I asked you about the terrible impact your government’s affordability crisis was having on the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families. We’ve already heard about the alarming situation at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown of 40 to 50 military families using the food bank each month. As well, CAF personnel who were sent to Ottawa for specialized cybertraining had to rely on food donations from a college’s staff so they wouldn’t go hungry. They also went months without having their expenses reimbursed. Minister, we have heard reports of homelessness among serving members. Why should our proud military and their families have to struggle just to survive?

Thank you very much. It’s an important question. We also looked into ensuring we provided the right supports to these individuals, making sure they have everything they need to do the job we ask of them.

Our cyberoperation students who went to Willis College, when they completed the basic military training and were awaiting the next course at Willis College, we posted them the basic training list in Canadian Forces Base Kingston in order to minimize any financial pressures they may have experienced while living in Ottawa. And in January 2023, we placed all full-time personnel at Willis College to provide administrative assistance and prioritize efforts with all of our local CAF resources.

We were very aware of the pressures that these individuals on this highly specialized course faced because of the training taking place in Ottawa, and steps were taken to provide them with the resources and supports that they required.

Minister, when you were last here, you told us you believed that the real answer to the affordability crisis was more housing. Yet, on April 1, you raised the cost of rent for Canadian military personnel living on bases.

Minister, why did you raise their rent this year, and will you do so again in 2025?

The rent — to be clear — is tied to income, and we gave them a pay raise. So there was a subsequent impact on that. But can I be clear? There’s also a huge issue of supply. We are making very significant investments. There is not enough time to answer the full question here, but we will be announcing this week 400 new military housing units on three of our bases, including Gagetown, Borden and Esquimalt, where we are going to begin construction immediately.

Also, through a number of programs that my department has now initiated, including project Pathfinder, we’re making arrangements to lease property to municipalities and developers to build housing on Department of National Defence, or DND, property without selling it. We can get it done quickly. I’ve spoken to a number of extraordinary people across this country. The plan is to build housing more quickly for —