The Canadian Forces Housing Agency's 2011-2012 Annual Report

Our Mandate

To manage Crown-controlled residential accommodation and to develop and implement plans to meet the future residential needs of members of the CAF and generally improve their quality of life.

Our Mission

CFHA manages assets and provides accommodation solutions in support of the CAF requirements and members’ needs.

Our Vision

CFHA excels in providing the CAF with a portfolio of wide-ranging innovative accommodation solutions.

Our Values

Customer-Centered

CFHA recognizes that every employee is responsible for customer service. This means anticipating and understanding customer needs; and delivering dependable, courteous and responsive customer services to address those needs.

Commitment

CFHA is committed to creating a culture where employee involvement and engagement are valued, discussed, shared and lived. All employees seek and accept responsibility and strive for the achievement of our vision of excellence as a reliable provider of housing services.

Teamwork

CFHA supports teamwork with a commitment to information sharing in a collaborative environment; and communicating knowledge and experience. Agency employees are encouraged to work together to create optimal results. Management encourages effort while recognizing and celebrating success.

Respect

CFHA is committed to demonstrating fairness and accountability in every action. We treat all others with care, honesty, fairness and importance. We provide exemplary management and stewardship of Agency assets.

Our Strategic Objectives

•  To provide excellent services to clients, customers and stakeholders
•  To be the agent of excellence in the provision of innovative and sustainable housing solutions
•  To strengthen a vibrant, competent and skilled organization, in a healthy workplace, committed to the realization of our mission
•  To strengthen our management practices and the stewardship of our resources

Where is DND Housing Located in Canada

British Columbia

• Comox: 234
• Esquimalt: 709
• Masset: 6
• Vancouver: 118

Northwest Territories

• Yellowknife: 122

Alberta

• Cold Lake: 854
• Edmonton: 502
• Suffield: 175
• Wainwright: 186

Saskatchewan

• Dundurn: 28
• Moose Jaw: 160

Nunavut

• Iqaluit: 6

Manitoba

• Shilo: 609
• Winnipeg: 556

Ontario

• Borden: 744
• Kingston: 497
• North Bay: 184
• Ottawa: 147
• Petawawa: 1598
• Toronto: 145 (site disposal in progress)
• Trenton: 545

Quebec

• Bagotvile: 319
• Montréal: 191
• Valcartier: 906

Newfoundland and Labrador

• Gander: 72
• Goose Bay: 415

New Brunswick

• Gagetown: 1455
• Moncton: 70

Nova Scotia

• Greenwood: 578
• Halifax: 480 

An Unmatched Dedication to Customer Service

Customer service involves a lot more than being polite to our clients and pleasing our customers. When we all work together towards the common goal of providing the best possible service, every interaction with CAF families becomes an opportunity to inspire someone to spread the word of a positive experience with DND housing and CFHA. 

– Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Aucoin, Acting General Manager – Housing Operations

Each and every CFHA employee, whatever his or her role in the organization, is dedicated first and foremost to providing CFHA customers with the best possible service. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-2012, the Agency underwent a significant organizational restructuring to better reflect this priority. A dedicated customer service section, responsible for the Customer Service Program, was created and placed directly under the authority of the Chief Executive Officer. The creation and strategic organizational position of this section allows for better focus on customer service efforts, and makes evident to customers, clients, stakeholders and employees that customer service is a first priority. The program will focus on fostering an organizational culture dedicated to customer service, building an effective two-way communication network, establishing clear customer service standards, and mapping an agency-wide standardized process for effective customer issue resolution. To this end, in addition to completing the administrative requirements of this restructuring, CFHA undertook a series of consultations with Service Canada, one of Canada’s customer service experts, and with the Canada School of Public Service to help survey the tools, training and research already available that might best serve the needs of the Agency and set its new program on a sound footing.

In addition to the initiatives specific to FY 2011-2012, the Agency also continued to dedicate itself to meeting the daily residential needs of CAF members and their families at the local level. For instance every year, more than 7,000 armed forces family moves occur across the country, in and out of DND housing alone, as a result of CAF operational needs. Those moves also take place for the most part within the same two-month period. Year-round, local CFHA employees are on-site and hard at work helping to ease the anxiety felt by transitions of families who sometimes know very little about the new places they will now have to call home. They dedicate themselves to facilitating the move of departing families and the arrival of new families, ensuring that their assigned houses are clean, safe and ready to be turned into homes. CFHA employees work to make sure new occupants find, along with a new house in a new city, a community and a support network tailored to their unique needs and challenges.

As adults, we have all had to move at some time in our lives. Some moves are welcome, exciting and filled with happy anticipation, while others are dreaded and filled with anxiety and stress. In either case, our staff understands and is always right there, on the ground, ready to help CAF families as best they can. 

– Donna Warren-Maxwell, Regional Housing Portfolio Manager (Pacific and Western)

Housing Services Centre (HSC) Edmonton recently allocated a full barrier-free accessible unit to a CAF family. A few of us were touched by the family’s battle with cancer. So we wanted to do something for them. As some of us are part of a quilting club, we decided to get together to make them a quilt, which we offered to them when they arrived to pick up the keys to their new home. It was easy to see that they were touched by our gesture, but the best part for us was providing that little bit of extra help to a family going through such a difficult time.

– Rhonda Parenteau, Acting Housing and FinancialAdministrator, HSC Edmonton

Flexible and Innovative Housing Solutions 

Though we are living in an extremely challenging time, we are also living in a spectacularly promising time that affords us, if we remain open-minded, all kinds of opportunities for exciting new solutions to problems both old and new.

– David Thompson, Regional Housing Portfolio Manager (Central)

In a time that requires both fiscal restraint and environmental responsibility, CFHA is making every effort to explore innovative housing solutions that stand to benefit CAF members and their families.

For example, in FY 2011-2012, CFHA built both a modular and a conventional home in Trenton to determine whether modular homes were as advantageous as reported. A modular home is a home that is built off-site in a factory, and then assembled in large pieces (or modules) on-site. This approach resonated with staff because it allows for much greater scheduling control, more precise conformity to building code standards, and better quality assurance. It can also make use of available land within an already developed area more efficiently, while minimizing the disturbance to local residents. Moreover, on-site construction activity is limited to two to three weeks and can proceed year-round, while still reducing overhead costs. It even promises exciting new building opportunities in the most remote locations.

Though the analysis is far from complete, the exciting new partnership with the modular home industry is exceptionally promising. For starters, the final cost of modular construction was well below what was anticipated. Its environmental rating was above CFHA standards for new constructions. The manufactured product is among the most energy-efficient on the market. Best of all, the construction time from start to finish, both on and off site, was only three months.

In addition to exploring the various possible advantages of alternative construction delivery methods, CFHA has also been expanding the spectrum of housing solutions available to CAF members with distinctive needs. The Agency constructed a full barrier-free accessible home in Edmonton, Shilo, Petawawa and Gagetown and continued planning the construction of three more, which represents a total investment of just over $2 million. Improvements and modifications are also made every year to transform some of the existing homes into partial barrier-free accessible homes. The distinguishing characteristics of barrier-free accessible homes include features such as widened doors, open concept floor plans, and the addition of bathrooms on any storey with a living area. CFHA is, to this extent, not only investing in buildings, but in the quality of life of its occupants for whom those buildings are their homes.

It’s a really nice feeling to be the first person to live in a new house. Compared to other housing units in which I’ve lived in the past, it’s quite a step up. People I know often ask to come in and have a look inside. The rent’s not cheap, but the kids like it. They have a play room in the partially finished basement; an area that is just for them.

– Master Corporal R.W. Cromwell

Continuously Improving the Housing Portfolio

At CFHA, we know that realizing our vision of excelling in the provision of wide-ranging innovative housing solutions to CAF members and their families requires us to strive to understand their evolving needs and to continuously find ways to improve and adapt our portfolio to meet those needs in the most efficient way.

– Serge Tremblay, General Manager – Infrastructure and Technical Services

In 1996, a newly created CFHA was given the responsibility to manage a housing portfolio constructed, for the most part, between 1948 and 1960. Over the last 16 years, the Agency has worked hard to modernize that portfolio, and tailor it to the contemporary needs of its customers – CAF members and their families. In FY 2011-2012 alone, approximately $118 million, over 82% of CFHA’s entire budget, was invested in the construction, renovation, and maintenance of the 12,611 housing units, and their respective garages and sheds.

Specifically, CFHA spent just under $87 million in the planned construction, renovation or disposal of portions of its housing portfolio. Renovation work involves replacing features of a housing unit that are at the end of their lifecycle. Such features include kitchens, bathrooms, siding, roofs, windows, furnaces and insulation.

In addition to the construction of new housing and the renovation of existing housing, the Agency devotes a great deal of time and money to the operation and maintenance of the portfolio. Each year, local CFHA HSCs see to the overall maintenance of the site as well as to the painting and cleaning of each house being prepared to welcome a new family. This ensures that any damaged or worn component of a house is either repaired or upgraded, and that all health and safety standards are met. On an ongoing basis, as soon as any of those safety standards are compromised, appropriate repairs are undertaken. This substantial and continuous work, however, represents only one part of the overall operation and maintenance activities conducted annually. CFHA also sees to the improvement of the community infrastructure of the residential housing area such as garages, sheds, fences and sidewalks. Portions of the seasonal maintenance requirements such as grass cutting and snow removal are also among its responsibilities. In FY 2011-2012, the overall operation and maintenance costs amounted to approximately $31 million.

Here in Comox, FY 2011-2012 saw a flurry of activity. We spent just under $2.7 million renovating and generally improving the site’s housing portfolio. To cite only a few examples of our work, we replaced the doors and windows of 42 units, the brick chimneys of 29, the steps, rails and walkways of 50 units, and the siding of 11 more. These projects alone cost more than $700 thousand. Add the painting of the exterior trim and fences of 206 of our 234 units, and the acquisition and installation of 127 heat recovery ventilators and 157 hot water tanks and the total is well over a million. Great, right? But that’s just half of what we did. We also constructed 150 patios, 82 sheds, and 30 garages, as well as fenced 150 yards. We also replaced a great deal of plumbing and roofing. If we take all this work together, and note that it represents only a portion of what we accomplished in a single fiscal year, not only are we proud of the improvements we made to the housing we provide our clients, but we’re excited to get right back to it in FY 2012-2013.

– Donna Kane, HSC Comox Manager 

Above and beyond the renovation and construction projects managed nationally by CFHA, nearly $3 million worth of projects were managed locally by HSC Shilo. Complete exterior retrofits were done to three housing styles on a total of 38 housing units. Three more units received a brand-new kitchen and four others were fitted with new hard-wood floors. More than 75 units had their roof repaired or completely replaced. Another 20 units had their driveway repaved and some were expanded. Nearly a third of our units saw their fences repainted or the addition of a tree on their rental property. Work was also done to replace damaged sidewalks, concrete steps and railings; all to improve curb appeal. Ten units had a new furnace installed, and more than 100 storage sheds had their doors and siding replaced. 2011-2012 was a very busy year and it feels great to see the improvements made to the area.

– Jodi Laba, HSC Shilo Manager

Last year was a good year for North Bay as our allocated budget for the year came just under $1.5 million, which is substantial for such a small site. With these funds, we were able to replace the exterior siding of more than 50 of our 184 units. We also completely renovated the kitchen and bathrooms of six houses and seven others received brand new furnaces. The addition of beautiful new decks to 40 homes was also extremely welcomed, as was the replacement of several concrete steps, sidewalks, and railings. The future looks promising in North Bay!

– Tom Wallace, HSC North Bay Manager

I sometimes wonder how well people understand all the work that goes into managing the largest housing site in the country. I mean, while building or renovating houses can be very exciting for us, and especially for the families who live in them, our responsibilities to those same families go much further. Beyond having invested over $4 million building, repairing, and renovating the homes here, we also had to budget for all kinds of operational cost just to make sure the community in which those houses are located remained functional. For example, one may not realize that it costs over half a million dollars annually to see to the cleaning, snow and waste removal as well as grass cutting of the site’s common areas. While seeing to the operational needs of the site is essential, I realize how important the appearance of kitchens and bathrooms are for our families. They want contemporary functionality in those spaces of their homes. That’s why we have upgraded kitchens in 52 vacant units and renovated 36 bathrooms in occupied units. In addition, we also replaced hardwood floors in 36 units and replaced roofs on 65 units. We must continuously strive to simultaneously provide availability of housing to meet the demands while maintaining some units vacant for these major work projects that can only be done in an empty unit. It’s a balancing act at best! We must maintain realistic goals and use our resources of time, funds and contractor availability to best achieve this continuation of work. We are proud of our achievements and are continuously exploring options to maintain this trend in future years!

– Guy Lafrance, HSC Petawawa Manager

Seeing to the needs of 1,455 homes that make up our site here in Gagetown is no small task, especially knowing how many deserving CAF members and their families depend on us to provide them with the housing solutions they need. In FY 2011-2012, we spent over $9 million improving, renovating, and adjusting the portfolio. To make the best long term use of our available funds, we spent some of that money disposing of 37 housing units that were deemed beyond economical repair. These 37 disposals, however, were only a very small part of everything that was done this year. For example, we replaced windows or siding in 232 housing units, both in certain cases; we repaired the foundations and improved the water drainage of another 147 units; and, we renovated the kitchens and bathrooms of 95 units. We constructed 100 sheds, 21 garages, and a brand new, fully barrier-free home suitable for a family with distinctive requirements. Our project work is prioritized based on need and in accordance with our rigorous health and safety standards. We look forward to the continued implementation of projects aimed at improving the quality of life of CAF families.

– Laura Clowater-Peters, HSC Gagetown Manager

HSC Halifax’s locally-managed improvement projects for 2011-2012 went well beyond the scope of simply seeing to the regular maintenance and servicing of our 480 units. A total of 167 houses had either roof replacement, replacement of steps, landings, railings and walkways or their driveways repaired, widened or completely repaved. All row houses had their wood siding repaired or repainted. Additionally, upgrades were done on a number of heritage homes, such as roof, siding, flooring, bathrooms and foundation repair. Work of this nature is always delicate given the heritage status of some of these residences and our obligation to maintain their heritage character. In a broader-based project in Shearwater, all old retaining rock cages and cement walls were replaced with modern block walls and improved landscaping to address safety issues, instantly modernizing and enhancing the neighbourhood community feel and appearance, because we never forget these are homes, not just a housing site. We strive, year after year, to do more with our allocated funding, and improve the quality of our housing for serving members.

– Margaret Brown, HSC Halifax Manager 

Creating Communities

At CFHA, we believe that people who feel a sense of belonging lead happier and healthier lives. Consequently, we work hard to turn our housing sites into strong, vibrant communities.

 – Éric Perrault, Regional Housing Portfolio Manager (Quebec and Eastern)

Though CFHA is mandated to manage Crown-controlled housing by tending to the construction, renovation and maintenance of the DND housing portfolio, it aspires to much more. Agency projects and programs strive to create cohesive communities that CAF members and their families are proud to call home. Without a doubt, CAF households take a prominent and exemplary role in the creation of such communities, and CFHA works hard to complement those efforts by creating environments in which those communities can flourish. For example, in FY 2011-2012, several HSCs submitted a number of their initiatives to the Communities in Bloom National Program by integrating their work into their respective base or wing submission. In this way, the Agency strives to communicate and encourage participation in community efforts towards sustainable development, civic pride, environmental responsibility, beautification and community involvement.

Specifically, Comox, Cold Lake, Shilo, Petawawa, and Kingston all submitted a number of their initiatives to the competition. HSC Comox saw to the "greening" of fences to enhance the aesthetic value to the housing community and to increase the privacy of individual units. They even equipped every row house with its own storage shed. HSC Cold Lake, as part of its application, described its existing recycling and tree and shrub programs, the latter providing occupants with a voucher to buy locally available plants to beautify their homes. Grass seed, topsoil, and landscape ties are also provided by the HSC to all interested occupants. HSC Shilo noted the construction of its barrier-free accessible housing and its beautification projects, including the construction and updating of its fencing, siding and steps. HSC Petawawa contributed to Operation Clean Sweep by instituting a clean-up week and creating semi-enclosed garbage areas for apartment residents to store their waste and recycle bins tidily. And finally, HSC Kingston highlighted its roadside compost pickup, and the landscaping and gardening work done in Babin Park.

Sandra Rideout has worked with us for the past 16 years, providing great customer service and ensuring that each CAF member’s transition to 5 Wing Goose Bay is as smooth as possible. When allocating housing units, fellow staff members often hear Sandra bringing interested CAF members up to speed on local area activities such as fishing, snowmobiling, game hunting, boating and cottage living. Her extra, personalized efforts help communicate to our new residents the character of the community they are joining and all the opportunities that come with a posting "on the Goose"; but her passion for all that is Labrador runs even deeper. She also has a tremendous love for traditional Labrador craft work, which she inherited from her aunts, mother and grandmother. Because of her devotion to Labrador’s traditions, Sandra was selected to represent the province at the 2012 Northern Lights Convention and Trade Show, held in Ottawa in February 2012, and then further honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

– Art Hinks, HSC Goose Bay Manager

A Vibrant Workforce

At CFHA, we believe that a safe, healthy, and supportive workplace helps us recruit and retain the very best employees; employees who are best suited to, and care most about providing the services our customers need. Simply put, by caring for our employees, we ensure that they are ready to care for the CAF families that choose to live in the communities we help build.

– Louis Gauthier, General Manager – Corporate Services

To provide its customers with the best possible service, CFHA works hard to create an environment in which employees can excel both personally and professionally. The results of the 2011 Public Service Employee Survey, especially when coupled with the Agency’s strides towards achieving Level 3 in the Healthy Workplace stream of Excellence Canada’s Progressive Excellence Program, provide clear evidence that CFHA is both an exceptionally capable workforce, and a workforce that cares deeply about providing the very best service to its customers, clients and stakeholders.

The 2011 Public Service Employee Survey revealed that CFHA excelled in some significant ways relative to both DND and to the Public Service as a whole. For instance, out of a total of 67 questions, the Agency scored higher than DND on 54 questions, the same on 5 questions, and lower on only 8 questions.

Additionally, some spectacular gains were made in comparison to the 2008 results. The two most notable improvements, given the relative increase in the number of positive responses received, related to collective agreement and ethical dilemmas or conflicts. In the first case, there was a 10 percentage point jump in responses to the question of whether it is felt that senior management respects the provisions of collective agreements. In the second case, an even more impressive 11 percentage point jump was made in responses to the question of whether employees know where to go when faced with an ethical dilemma or conflict. This means that, not only does CFHA do better relative to DND and the public service as a whole, but it is in a state of improvement relative to its already impressive performance.

CFHA also complemented its success at fostering an atmosphere conducive to personal excellence by allowing the individual strengths of its employees to contribute positively to the broader projects and programs, thereby reinforcing its effectiveness at the corporate level. For instance, the first two stages of a Process Management Project were a series of consultations with Agency staff and management to ensure that key processes were identified and prioritized for review. The Agency also strengthened cross-divisional, functional information-sharing and problem-solving processes by instituting the Head Office Level 4 Managers Forum, which meets every month, and is comprised of all employees who report directly to General Managers. CFHA improved the means of communication with its stakeholders, such as the Base and Wing Commanders who are the custodians of residential housing sites, by launching a web-based information platform which provides them with comprehensive descriptions of housing policies, portfolios, and the improvement projects planned as well as funding allocated for each site for the current year. As a final example of the Agency’s strides towards corporate excellence, it also held regular Healthy Workplace Committee meetings to consult with and engage staff, to learn how to better integrate wellness into its workplace culture.

In FY 2011-2012, CFHA approved my request to participate in the Civilian Personnel Education Support Program. The program is designed to provide its participants with the time and financial support they need to pursue their full-time studies, and as a result better contribute to the work of their department. Personally, I was able to complete my Bachelor of Commerce and pursue my ambition of working in human resources. Now, thanks to my participation in the program, not only has my own career become far more rewarding, but I can help my peers, who provided me with such outstanding support, achieve their own career aspirations.

– Julie Bédard, Regional Operations Support Officer

Effective and Responsible Stewardship of Resources

In this ongoing period of fiscal constraint, every expenditure that we consider must be analyzed and assessed very cautiously and result in a direct or indirect improvement of either the housing we manage or the services we provide. Choosing amongst the various opportunities to modernize, maintain, construct and adapt our portfolio must be done carefully in order to ensure that while we tend to our occupants’ current requirements, we also maintain our ability to tend to their future and sometimes unexpected needs.

– Jill Carleton, General Manager – Strategic Planning and Governance

Providing CAF members and their families with a portfolio of wide-ranging and innovative housing solutions requires that the sometimes complementary and competing operational and demographic priorities of the CAF and housing occupants are carefully balanced. Moreover, because CFHA’s budget is limited almost exclusively to the rent revenue collected, and because the Agency is striving to further reduce its dependence on DND, it must ensure that each investment in the portfolio increases its value. To this end, CFHA develops and continuously adapts its national housing investment strategy by dedicating a very small, but extremely important portion of its annual budget to short and long term real property investment planning.

In FY 2011-2012, CFHA invested nearly $1.4 million in a three-tiered planning and review program that assesses its current portfolio, its relation to our short and long term requirements, and existing investment options. For instance, Agency staff initiated the 3rd generation of a five-year Strategic Site Plans cyclical review, improving upon the comprehensiveness of those Strategic Site Plans by increasing the extent of the consultation with the local Base and Wing Commanders as well as municipal governments and by adjusting them to account for those changes that have taken place since their last review. CFHA also developed a set of guidelines, which identified key factors and principles to be considered when developing options for site improvements or to identify ideal locations for new construction within a given site. This approach can help foster a more cohesive sense of community while minimizing the need for additional investment in site or municipal infrastructure. The Agency also conducted three rental market analyses and one combined rental market and urban planning analysis to verify whether or not there had been any change in the local municipalities’ ability to meet the needs of CAF members and their families for rental housing. Because CFHA is mandated to provide housing options where the local housing market cannot, employees are required to continuously assess the state of the local housing market surrounding each DND housing site. To this end, staff analyzed the availability, accessibility, affordability and suitability of the housing available on the private market at Borden, Esquimalt, Halifax and Winnipeg. As a result, CFHA is better suited to identify the priorities specific to those sites and ensure that the value of each dollar collected from occupants is maximized to bridge any gaps between the private market and DND’s requirements.

This three-tiered planning process culminates in a Program Review Board. In FY 2011-2012, CFHA strengthened this review board in order to accelerate the approval process for the projects that it deemed the most valuable, cost-effective and time-sensitive investment options. These ongoing and ever refined planning processes, coupled with the strengthened work of the internal Program Review Board, allows the Agency to provide a clear and ready justification for the object of the proposed re-investments into DND’s housing portfolio. CFHA is, as a result, not only re-injecting back into the portfolio over 80% of the revenue collected, but doing so in a more effective, efficient and transparent way.

CFHA’s Program Review Board process has been refined over the past year into what I believe to be an open and fair prioritization and project approval process that engages all levels of the organization, including its DND partners and stakeholders, in a transparent manner. As a result, CFHA can ensure that all available funds are distributed appropriately and equitably across the various regions and housing sites, addressing health and safety issues first and foremost. The Program Review Board process also allows the Agency to plan the delivery of its work program in a more proactive manner, to assign resources efficiently, and to expedite the delivery of its construction and renovation projects, thereby ensuring it gets more bang for its buck.

– Carrie Fortier, ADM(IE) Director Real Property Management

Moving Forward

Empowered by the Defence Strategic Executive Committee decision on February 7th, 2012 that DND has a continued need for residential housing to support the CAF, which has been established at 11,858 units across the country, the department must now assess whether or not its current organizational structure and funding model are best suited to ensure that those residential needs are met.

Specifically, as part of Phase II of the Accommodation Policy Review, ADM(IE) will undertake in FY 2012-2013 a Service Delivery Options analysis in order to determine how DND can best deliver in the most effective way possible, and with little or no reliance on the department for capital funding, a housing program that meets the defined requirements of the CAF, including the need for a recapitalized portfolio. CFHA will have a big part to play in supporting ADM(IE) in this initiative.

Additionally, Agency staff will be conducting a series of process mapping exercises to ensure that the policies already in place are administered and implemented as efficiently as possible, are easy to understand, and are applied in a consistent manner at all residential housing sites across Canada.

While the status and structure of the Agency may be subject to change, its customer service orientation and focus will remain. CFHA will continue to develop the redefined Customer Service Program by instituting a two-tiered training program. The first tier will be directed externally and will aim to establish the highest possible customer service norms, and to standardize those norms nationally. The second tier will be directed internally, and aim to provide the best possible client services, ensuring that frontline staff are always provided with the support they need to efficiently and effectively respond to customer issues. In conjunction with this training program, the Agency will also institute recurrent national and regional surveys to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, and a National Customer Service Committee to enable the exchange of creative and effective ideas to be shared amongst the various housing sites across Canada. Those initiatives, coupled with the increased consultation and involvement of housing stakeholders, will allow the Agency to better capture, understand, and rise to the ever changing needs of CAF members and their families.

CFHA’s dedication to providing excellent customer and client services has been confirmed by Excellence Canada’s invitation to participate in developing a new Integrated Progressive Excellence Program. The popularity and effectiveness of Excellence Canada’s program led to the evolution of an increasingly complex network of sub-programs targeting specific types of organizations and their various excellence goals. In an effort to streamline and standardize its programs, and to facilitate each of its participant’s ability to evaluate itself against other participating organizations, Excellence Canada has undertaken a consolidation project and asked CFHA to participate in its development. CFHA has agreed to help, and will look into adopting this new system once its more rigorous evaluative principles are put in place.

In FY 2012-2013, CFHA will also finalize and adopt a Communication Strategy in order to ensure that all communications are well coordinated, effectively managed and responsive to the information needs of its external and internal audiences, while at the same time supporting CFHA and DND/CAF priorities and the Government of Canada’s Communications Policy. With the implementation of its Communication Strategy, the Agency will be better able to progress towards achieving the next level of Excellence Canada’s Integrated Progressive Excellence Program. CFHA will also be able to develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan which will facilitate efforts to work together with partners and stakeholders to achieve their shared operational objectives. This nationally coordinated strategy, which will be implemented at all Agency levels, will ensure that key clients, stakeholders and business partners are informed and engaged in a timely manner by the right Agency representative on all issues that affect the delivery of housing services to CAF members and their families.

Finally, as the journey towards excellence on which CFHA embarked is never-ending, the Agency will continue to look for efficiencies and find ways to improve services to ensure that the highest possible amount of revenue dollars is invested back into DND’s housing portfolio.

Annex A – Financial Statement

Statement of Management Responsibility

Responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the accompanying financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2012 and all information contained in these statements rests with the management of CFHA. These financial statements have been prepared by management in accordance with Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) accounting policies which are consistent with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector.

Management is responsible for the integrity and objectivity of the information in these financial statements. Some of the information in the financial statements is based on management’s best estimates and judgment and gives due consideration to materiality. To fulfil its accounting and reporting responsibilities, management maintains a set of accounts that provides a centralized record of the Agency’s financial transactions. Financial information submitted to the Public Accounts of Canada and included in the DND Departmental Performance Report is consistent with these financial statements.

Management maintains a system of financial management and internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that financial information is reliable, that assets are safeguarded and that transactions are in accordance with the Financial Administration Act, and are executed in accordance with prescribed regulations, within Parliamentary authorities, and are properly recorded to maintain accountability of Government funds. Management also seeks to ensure the objectivity and integrity of data in its financial statements by careful selection, training and development of qualified staff, by organizational arrangements that provide appropriate divisions of responsibility, and by communication programs aimed at ensuring that regulations, policies, standards and managerial authorities are understood throughout the Agency.

The CFHA financial statements have not been audited.

Approved By:

Dominique Francoeur, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Forces Housing Agency
Natasha Tchentsova, General Manager, Finance, Planning and Resource Management