The Canadian Forces Exchange System, or CANEX, is a commercial service of the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services. First established in 1968, it is tasked with supporting the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

operational effectiveness, contributing to morale, ''esprit de corps'' and unit cohesion. CANEX operates merchandising operations (retail outlets) and provides CF members with Advantage Programs at CF bases, wings, and units throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. In Europe, similar facilities are operated in Germany for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

CANEX customers

Authorized patrons of CANEX facilities include: * members of the Regular Force and their dependants * former members of the Regular Force in receipt of an annuity under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA), Defence Services Pension Continuance Act (DSPCA), or a pension under the Pension Act or War Veterans Allowance Act, and their survivors * former CF members who served on active service in the naval, army, or air forces raised in Canada during time of war * current and former Reserve Force members * dependants of Reserve Force members, when the Reserve Force member is on Class C service or Class B service over 180 days * members of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

and their dependants *

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

(DND) Public Service employees and their families, including casual employees and civilian employees under full-time contract to DND, who are resident or employed on a unit or other element of DND * former DND Public Service employees receiving a pension for DND service * foreign military personnel on duty in Canada, and their dependants * members of the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires or other security force when residing or employed on a unit * Non-Public Funds (NPF) staff and their dependants * former NPF staff receiving a pension for Non-Public Property (NPP) service * Military Family Resource Center (MFRC) employees and their dependants

Brief history

In 1967, the Defence Council approved the formation of CANEX and shortly thereafter, in 1968, CANEX commenced business. For the next 22 years, CANEX operated under local management, with policy direction emanating from National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ). In March 1990, CANEX was restructured as a line organization, operating as a field unit of ADM (HR-Mil). In 1996, the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA) stood up, with CANEX as a division of CFPSA. In 2008, CFPSA became Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services (CFPFSS). Overall direction for CFPFSS and CANEX is provided by the Non-Public Property Board, which includes representatives from each of the CF commands. CANEX delivery van

Operations

CANEX outlets include a combination of retail stores, grocery stores, and ExpressMarts (with or without gasoline sales). CANEX also operates snack bars, coffee shops (branded CANEX and

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, Doughnut, donuts, sandwiches, Breakfast sandwich, breakfast egg mu ...

), restaurants (branded CANEX,

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza Ltd. is a franchised Canadian pizza quick-service restaurant with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Its restaurants are mainly in the province of Ontario while others are located in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoun ...

and Subway), barber shops and vending operations. In addition, CANEX also has various concession agreements with independent businesspeople who supply supplementary services to the military community. Examples of these special services include tailor shops, real estate offices, travel agents, credit unions and medical/dental offices to name a few.

CANEX proceeds

Proceeds from CANEX operations are distributed to base, wing and unit funds, to be used to finance a wide variety of social and recreational programs for the benefit of military personnel and their dependents. Physical fitness, sports and recreational programs are among the main recipients of CANEX proceeds; examples of these programs include skating, curling and swimming, as well as on-base Scouts and Guide programs, libraries, hobbyist activities and more. CANEX proceeds also help support military financial services offered under Personal Support Programs (PSP), such as low cost loans and grants to CF members and their families. These funds are further used to financially assist bases/wings/units through grants from Canadian Forces Central Fund for special projects, which are not subject to public funding. In addition to funding Morale and Welfare programs, the CANEX earnings are used to fund capital investments such as building new stores or renovating existing facilities.

Notes

External links