The Conservatives say that Canada's housing crisis is at a "critical point.".On Tuesday, Conservative MP Frank Caputo (Kamloops-Thompson) told parliament the housing crisis impacts everyone, including our soldiers. ."A senior B.C. officer told soldiers that they should go to Habitat for Humanity for assistance," Caputo said. "These are people who are prepared to lay down their lives for our freedom and they are told to go to charity. It is shameful.".He then proceeded to ask the Speaker of the House when the government plans to provide adequate housing for our soldiers who are prepared to lay down their lives for our freedoms?.The Minister of National Defence Anita Anand responded by saying military members and their families are their top priority and the Liberals are investing $445 million over the coming years to tackle this "very important issue.".In February 2021, the Liberals increased military members' rates of pay to ensure alignment with increases received by the federal public service, Anand added.."We also implemented an interim relocation policy to enable remote work options and to facilitate flexibility for members. We have more work to do. We will continue to seek ways to support our members and their families.".Anand then explained to parliament that significant cuts for housing for military members was made by the previous Conservative government..The City of Cold Lake is the proud home of 4 Wing, the largest and busiest fighter aircraft base of the Canadian Armed Forces. Conservative MP Laila Goodridge (Fort McMurray-Cold Lake) says military members did not expect they would not be able to afford to live because the government would let them down. "Military personnel sacrifice to serve our country," Goodridge said. "There should be some expectation of a similar cost of living when military personnel are posted from base to base."However, Goodridge said that's not the case, with the rates of military housing varying widely across the country."The rates at Bagotville are almost double those in Cold Lake. Both are air force bases that are home to our CF-18s," Goodridge said.However, the Liberals say they're delivering results for our Canadian Armed Forces."Some of these results are the tax-free income for members deployed on international operations, close to $200 million to improve access to health care and implement a joint suicide prevention strategy, $6 million per year in new funding for military family resource centres, which means more child care hours, and enshrining a victims' bill of rights in the military justice system. This is our top priority," Anand said.
