Home Equity Assistance & "Military Families Pushed to Financial Ruin" (Merge)

[heavy reader]

I agree that there is much work to do on the HEA policy. I believe you are referring to the capital improvements component of the policy. 

Your best bet is just to keep all receipts, ensure they are within the scope of the policy (i.e. new room, fence etc) and hope like hell the policy doesn't change the year your are posted.

 

[TCM621]

I think the way that HEA is calculated as well should be reviewed. It should be based on the required appraisal amount, not on purchase price.

Unless the member is familiar to the rules prior to purchasing a home, they will find out the hard way when they apply for HEA basing their application on market value because they believe that all of the monies they have invested in their home are part of the fair market values, like hardwood floors, new roof etc. And the fact that an appraisal is required. To find out they are SOL because HEA doesn't work that way.

This is how I have seen it happen to several people.

Let's say you are fortunate enough to live in the same place for say five years. ( Hard sea trade sailors are generally a little more fortunate than this, army and airforce can bounce around a lot more than this)

You pay $200k originally and invest about $40k in improvements over five years. The way the HEA is calculated now is if you sold your house for $20000.01 (Unless you have all receipts for upgrades) you have actually made $.01 so therefore no loss has been incurred and you are not entitled to HEA.

I am interested to see if this policy will change. Meanwhile I hope everyone keeps any receipts for any upgrades they make to their house now.

This is pretty much what happened in my case. I made a lot of improvements and spent a lot of money on the house but because my house sold for 25k over what I bought it for in 05, I wasn't eligible. I spent more than 25K on that house. This is the first down turn greater Victoria has had since 1985. When the average house price was 15% what it was at its peak in 2010.

Also I like how they say they are "corrections" rather than depressions. Corrections is the word stock brokers use instead of losses.

 

[heavy reader]

The big sell-off:

Folks, I have begun to list my remaining assets on Kijiji in order to take the Treasury Board to court and support my family.  Please take advantage of my situation and buy some stuff.  All prices are negotiable and delivery within Halifax region is available. More will be listed over the coming weeks.

http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-PostersOtherAds-W0QQUserIdZ52355394

Thank you for supporting us.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Good luck with the court battle.

 

[heavy reader]

We have all heard about the issues facing the issues surrounding current and former member of the Canadian Forces. Currently, there is a new threat affecting many Canadian Forces members and their families. These members are suffering from bankruptcy, loss of housing, career implications, mental health issues and failed relationships. All due to denial of one entitlement that has been deemed not important enough to change according to the Treasury Board Secretariat.

For over three years, members have been quietly and patiently going through the bureaucracy hoping that the obvious errors would be corrected by leaders, politicians and staffers. Unfortunately, the only thing that has changed are the people making those bad decisions.

The Policy…

When a member is posted (every 2 years for some families), they are entitled to 100% of the loss of equity on the sale of their home if certain conditions are met. Many members have submitted their applications only to be supported by everyone except the Treasury Board Secretariat. Between 2007-2010 the TBS has used their omnipotent power to:

• Change definitions after the fact to minimize eligibility;
• Provide the administrators in the Canadian Forces with a blanket denial so that no one can be approved;
• Mal administer the policy by applying different standards in different geographic locations;
• Denied any relief for affected families; and
• Denied all 146 applications between 2007-2010.


As a result, military families have suffered severe financial effects due to their mandated relocations.

It gets better…

The Canadian Forces Grievance System is in place to resolve issues such as this unless…they have something to do with Treasury Board Policy. Families have spent years in the grievance system only to determine that they could not have been provided any relief by the Chief of Defence Staff.

But there is hope…

Bill C-15 was put in place to try and resolve some of these issues and allow the Chief of Defence Staff the authority to provide relief for his troops, it is still in the works (after 15 years). There is also a Privy Council Order effective 16 Jun 2012 (PCO #2012-0861) however it is not retroactive and does not apply to anything under TBS policy.

Where do these families stand now…

Without a union, without a public voice, without any influence on Treasury Board members can only apply for a Judicial Review.  Judicial Reviews can cost a great deal ($15,000-$20,000 estimate). Under the law, this is the only option left for these families who are already declaring bankruptcy, using social assistance and suffering a lack of justice. It remains our only hope.


We are members of the Canadian Forces who come from all aspects of military trades and ranks.  What we have in common is that we all followed orders and picked up our families and relocated.  It wasn’t until each family received their next posting that financial issues started to turn into nightmares.

We have exhausted all methods within our means to resolve this issue however we are out of resources. Our expectation as Canadian Forces members is that we should not be place in a position that leaves us and our families in such an extreme financial situation. We all have served in the CF for many years and we can all agree that we have never had to deal with such an overwhelming financial loss due to a posting.  Our families are still experiencing the severe stress of this crisis and if we are not compensated for our losses we will spend numerous years trying to get out of the debt that we are now in. We have devoted all that we are to our country, do we deserve any less than a government living up to its responsibilities under the law?


Our families have been put into a catch 22 position between the Department of National Defence and Treasury Board Secretariat.  Although evidence of wrongdoing has been found and confirmed by the Canadian Forces Grievance Board, the CF Ombudsman, and Chief of Defence Staff there is no forward movement in this matter. Once the grievance process is concluded, there is no mechanism to have TBS live up to their end of the deal.

It is unfortunate to say the least that a soldier whose family has been abused by the system has to pay $20,000 to get a chance at justice at the Federal Level.  The rationale for not resolving this issue, in our minds is not good enough: 

"given other more pressing priorities and CTBS conviction that there simply isn't a big enough problem to justify a submission for a policy change."

We as military members are very proud people and this does not come easy asking for support in this matter, but as members of the Canadian Forces we know that the Family is the cornerstone to making us who we are.  Family is everything!

We are looking for help from Canadians to help us bring an end to the suffering of soldiers and their families.  We will take this fight to the next level (Federal Court-Judicial Review), because the Treasury Board does not realize that when they cause pain and hardship to a Canadian Forces family, it strengthens our resolve for justice.

Will you support us?

 

[stokerwes]

You all have my support, I have been in touch with the Ombudsman several times about this issue and am in the process of filing a grievance. Even though Brookfield, the Ombudsman's Office my CoC and me know it will not be approved, simply because no one has the authority to do so.
I am also in the process of releasing from the CF as since I only moved to my present location in April and I am due to be posted this APS I simply cannot afford another 50K loss. So the CF loses millions in training for essentially maybe 50-80k. That is sound financial planning.
And for anyone that wants to say suck it up, please don't. I have heard it said lived I know how to suck eggs.

 

[heavy reader]

I applaud you sending in a grievance.  I was told the same thing, but needed to ensure the CDS was aware so that the CoC could indeed support us.  If you want to stay current on this issue, you can join in the discussion at http://healoss.wordpress.com/ or on this site.

Take care of yourself and your family.  Call on me anytime you need support.

Marc

 

[Occam]

I'm still appalled that quicker action hasn't been taken on this.  Far "smaller" (dollar-wise) issues have gone to the press and the politicians, and have been acted upon in short order.  Why isn't this gaining traction, despite the clearly excellent legwork that's been done to bolster the CF's side of this argument?

 

[heavy reader]

Occam:

The biggest issue now is that of funding. The research is done, the application for Federal Court is drafted but the one person moving this forward is already financially destroyed. Because the affected members are financially devestated, there is no opportunity to get this to Federal Court (the next and final stage in the resolution of the issue). This is also a clear demonstration, that CF members grieving a TBS controlled policy, cannot get justice as they are financially limited.

I have a few options remaining, and will be taking it to Federal Court regardless, but it would be best if I did not have to disadvantage  my family any further (financially).  Updates are regularly posted to http://healoss.wordpress.com/ which has quite a following and has all media releases, press coverage and a good taste of evidence, but without any assistance it is pretty difficult to get any traction.

I am not very good at fundraising, but I aim to raise about $20,000 in order to get the appropriate legal team on board. Without it, I'm afraid that by taking this case forward as a test case on my own, will not do justice to the affected families. It would be a shame to lose on a technicality. Especially since the issue is so well supported by the CF Ombudsman, CDS, CFGBA, my Member of Parliament and Canadian society.

I hope to have a fundraising webpage up shortly, but need some help. Any one that is willing to help out, please share this info and help out with fundraising.  :yellow:

Thank you

Marcus Brauer

Click here to donate:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5NH8P6JTS89D4

 

[TCM621]

Have you looked into a crowd sourcing site similar to kickstarter? I am pretty sure there are sites aimed at non commercial ventures such as this.

 

[heavy reader]

No I haven't,  can anyone help me out with this?

Marcus

 

[TCM621]

No I haven't,  can anyone help me out with this?

Marcus

Let me do some research and I will get back to you.

 

[heavy reader]

Let me do some research and I will get back to you.

Thanks TCM

 

[heavy reader]

TCM:

How does this look?

 

[TCM621]

There was nothing there.

I would suggest http://crowdfunding.com/. It is pretty versatile. 

 

[heavy reader]

Here's the site: http://www.gofundme.com/Home-Equity-Assistance

Please help us by donating or spreading the word!

 

[heavy reader]

We are now 10% to our fundraising goal.  Help support the 146 CF Families who were systemically denied their relocation entitlements by Treasury Board!

http://www.gofundme.com/Home-Equity-Assistance

We're going all the way with this one.  Thanks to all who have donated to date! :yellow:

 

[heavy reader]

This last week, I had a gag order placed on me to remove all of my websites and halt all communications on the issue of SYSTEMIC DENIAL OF HOME EQUITY ASSISTANCE ENTITLEMENTS.

Therefore, I really need everyone to assist in spreading the word for fundraising. If I can't raise the funds, there is no possibility of getting justice on this issue for our family and potentially all 146 other families who were denied.

Fundraising website can be found at http://www.gofundme.com/Home-Equity-Assistance

Help me SUPPORT OUR TROOPS and get justice for the HEA entitlements, which the CDS and ombudsman all agreed were broken!!!

Thanks folks.

Marcus

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Interesting.

Did "they" happen to mention under what part of Canadian Law you were gagged?

I would interested to see how that squares with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms....

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

It good be court, or mediator, ordered.......happen all the time with grievances.  Just a thought..........