4. Looking to the future - Canadian Forces Housing Agency Annual Report 2019-2020

In 2020-2021, our priorities and work will continue to uphold the initiatives set out by the DND and the Government of Canada.

Our first order of business will remain, as it has, to provide residential housing for CAF members and their families. We pride ourselves in ensuring that the CFHA RHUs CAF members occupy can be the places military families call home.

We look forward to completing and unveiling two new apartment buildings in Borden, which will provide a modern housing option for over 12 CAF families at the defence establishment with a noted high demand for rental housing. We plan to rigorously invest rent revenues in completing more recapitalizations and exterior retrofits. We will continue the divestment of RHUs that have surpassed their lifecycle achieving to portfolio rationalization. When possible, the Agency will contribute to community revitalizing projects to build on the occupant experience.

The Agency has committed to meeting the new target in the DEES 2.0, to develop net-zero carbon ready designs for two residential archetypes or ‘styles’ by 2023. Further, CFHA will contribute to the DEES 2.0 by replacing 11 DND commercial fleet vehicles with low or zero-emission options.

The Government of Canada continues to be committed to creating more opportunities for Indigenous-led businesses. To that end, CFHA will aim to increase federal government contracting opportunities for Indigenous firms by participating in outreach sessions designed to highlight the nature of work to be procured in the future in support of the Agency objectives. In addition, the sessions will walk through the set of tools that offer information and guidance to support Indigenous businesses interested in identifying and pursuing federal government contract opportunities.

In the continued modernization of service delivery, CFHA will focus on the digitization of service to allow occupants to receive services through their preferred means. In 2020-2021, CFHA will complete the implementation of the mobile workplace program, which will enable service technicians to access program data and work tools remotely while visiting RHUs, and improve the use of timely data in decision making and support work away from the physical office. Furthermore, we will work to develop requirements for an online occupant portal; once launched in future years, the occupant portal will seamlessly capture data and integrate it with CFHA’s existing database management software. This capture of data will be realized in real time and centrally managed to allow for better data integrity, in addition to contributing to the occupant experience by improving how they are able to interact with CFHA. Furthermore, the portal — to be made available to occupants 24/7 — will enable more efficient, reliable, and secure communications with occupants.

As of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic tested CFHA’s resilience and adaptability. Following public health recommendations, CFHA adjusted to the new work environment while ensuring occupants received a consistent level of service. This upcoming year we will prioritize efforts to ensure the continuity of service excellence in a safe and effective manner.