# 2017-140 Pay and Benefits, Dependants, Foreign Service Directives

Case summary

F&R Date: 2019-02-15

The grievor was posted outside of Canada and argued that his dependant should have been found eligible for enrolment in the French Program at the International School. He also contended that he should have been reimbursed for the French language tutoring fees he incurred for his dependant.

The Initial Authority (IA), the Director General Compensation and Benefits, denied the grievance. The IA stated that the dependant's French language proficiency level was assessed as not being sufficient to attend the French program and that her admission to the French program, even on a trial basis, could have required additional academic resources, been detrimental to her academic performance and negatively affected her self-esteem. He also expressed the view that her presence in the French program could have had an adverse effect on the learning pace of the other students in the class and the quality of lessons offered by the teacher. Regarding the tutoring fees, the IA found that the International School offered French instruction comparable to Canadian standards.

The Committee found that the capacity of the grievor's dependant to successfully function in the French language program was fairly and reasonably evaluated. The Committee also found that the International School met its obligation to provide Core French-language training compatible to that offered in Ontario. With respect to tutoring fees, the Committee found that that reimbursement for the cost of the tutoring should have been approved on the basis that it would enable the grievor's dependant to continue in her chosen educational stream and facilitate her re-integration into the French immersion program on her return to Canada. The Committee noted that the Foreign Service Directives support private tutoring in the second official language up to a limit of 50 hours of instruction per child each school year, upon provision of receipts for the tutoring fees.

The Committee recommended that redress be partially granted, and that the Director of Children's Education Management be directed by the Final Authority (FA) to seek reimbursement approval of the tutoring expenses from the Interdepartmental Committee - Working Group B.

FA decision summary

The FA, the Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, agreed with the Committee that there is no entitlement to French immersion for members serving abroad and that the grievor's dependant, although not accepted into the full French program at the school in question, was duly considered by the admission committee. The FA disagreed with the Committee's recommendation that the grievor be granted an education allowance for tutoring in French. The FA indicated that an education allowance could only be granted for expenses incurred at foreign education facilities, and the grievor's dependant attended a Department of National Defence school.