Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the current contract for the Canadian Armed Forces, CAF, relocation program was awarded to Brookfield Global Relocation Services, BGRS, on August 25, 2016.
With regard to part (b), BGRS was previously awarded the contract for the relocation program on August 14, 2009.
With regard to parts (c) to (e), the contract was retendered on expiry in a competitive bidding process.
With regard to part (f), National Defence, and not BGRS, approves reimbursement or recovery of all or part of the expenses reasonably incurred that are directly related to the member’s relocation.
Since the start of the current contract on August 25, 2016, there were 3285 instances where funds were recovered by National Defence from CAF members. This total includes recoveries from CAF members who requested and received advances in excess of what they claimed, as well as those who received benefits and then upon additional review had the benefit adjusted or cancelled. Further details on funds recovered prior to this time period would require an extensive manual search of paper records, which could not be completed in the allotted time.
With regard to parts (g) and (h), CAF members typically submit complaints to National Defence when they feel they were denied a financial benefit resulting from a decision or omission within the policy itself and not regarding the process or the file management, i.e., with BGRS. Further information on relevant policies can be found in the Canadian Armed Forces relocation directive at the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/relocation-directive/cafrd.html.
Since August 25, 2016 there have been 73,978 files, i.e., individual moves initiated. Isolating the requested data would require an extensive manual search, which cannot be completed in the allotted time.
Ultimately, National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces recognize the challenges that members and their families face when relocating, and seek to address any grievances in a timely manner.