Legal issues

Class action lawsuits

Details

Jost class action lawsuit

• The Plaintiff alleges that the Attorney General of Canada is responsible for chronic and excessive delays in the payment of pension entitlements to discharged members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and has not compensated discharged members for these delays. 
• The class action is on behalf of all members of the CAF Reserve Force and Regular Force Pension Plans who were entitled, upon release, to Immediate Pension Entitlements from March 1, 2007 to present.
• In July 2016, the administration of CAF pension plans was separated from the CAF release process to allow faster processing of pension payments.
• Under this new process, all pension documentation received from CAF members is reviewed separately and in advance of the release process to ensure payment is ready upon a CAF member’s release. 
• In Strong, Secure, Engaged, the CAF committed to ensuring all benefits are in place before a member transitions to civilian life.
• National Defence continues to improve the release process to ensure expedited claims and that any issues or errors are addressed before a member releases from the CAF. There is currently no backlog of pension cases ready to be paid.

Frenette proposed class action

• The Plaintiffs allege that, while members of the CAF, they were subjected to racial discrimination and harassment based on race or Aboriginal status.
• Parties are currently in negotiations.

Logan class action

• The Plaintiff alleged that the Government breached the terms of the CAF Service Income Security Insurance Plan by calculating monthly long-term disability benefits based only on salary alone, omitting certain allowances from the calculation.
• For the Plaintiff, this included a Special Operations Assaulter Allowance, a Post Living Differential, and a Civilian Dress Allowance.
• Canada consented to the certification of the class action on March 1, 2019, and the parties agreed to proceed to the Federal Court for a determination of the interpretation of “monthly pay” under the policy:

• On March 24, 2020, the Federal Court ruled in favour of the Plaintiff, answering the question in the affirmative. 
  • The Court found that allowances paid on a monthly basis at the time of medical release for Regular Force members, and at the time of illness or injury for Class C Reserve Force members, should have been included in the calculation of long-term disability benefits.
• The Government of Canada will not appeal the Court’s decision and will work with the Case Management Judge and Plaintiffs’ counsel to determine next steps.

Version 1 – 2020-06-09 – Source: Supps (B) 2020-2021 note: Class Action Lawsuits

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LGBT purge class action final settlement agreement

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• To address the wrongs experienced by those who were unfairly criminalized by unjust laws and actions, the Government passed the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act. This puts in place a process for individuals to apply to the parole Board of Canada for an expungement order to permanently destroy or remove the records of convictions for offences involving consensual sexual activity between same-sex partners that would be lawful today. The Act is not related to the LGBT Purge Final Settlement Agreement.

LGBT purge final settlement agreement

• Todd Edward Ross, Martine Roy and Alida Satalic were former military members who were fired for their sexual orientation. The Government signed a Final Settlement Agreement to resolve the “LGBT Purge” Class Action in a fair, compassionate, and respectful manner that promotes healing and reconciliation.
• The parties signed an Agreement-in-Principle in November 2017, and the Final Settlement Agreement was approved by the Federal Court on June 22, 2018. The settlement provides up to $145 million: $110 million for individual compensation, including $15 million for legal fees, $5 million for external administration, and $15 million for recognition and memorialization exhibits and monuments administered by the LGBT Purge Fund.
• A total of up to $110 million is available to compensate class members — current and former federal public servants, members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who were directly and negatively impacted by discriminatory policies and practices between December 1, 1955 and June 20, 1996.
• The Individual Reconciliation Measures include the Canada Pride Citation, the personal apology letter, access to members’ records, and a Notation to File. Impacted individuals had until April 25, 2019 to submit a claim to Deloitte Canada to request compensation and/or individual reconciliation measures.
• Class members who were found to be eligible for individual compensation began to receive an initial payment of $5,000 in February 2019 and all have now received their complete level 1-3 compensation in addition to copies of their service records, letter of apology and the Notation to File, as requested. Assessment for the highest level of compensation continue and approximately 90% have been completed to date by the Assessor. 
• Claimants have a choice to receive their Canada Pride Citation certificate and insignia by mail or have them presented in a ceremony with either the Federal Public Service, RCMP or the CAF.
• At this time, it is anticipated that the presentation ceremonies will take place no earlier than late-Fall 2020 due to mandatory COVID-19 precautions. In June 2020, the Government of Canada resumed mailing out the citations to ALL eligible claimants, including to those who requested in-person presentation, to avoid further delays in providing the citations to claimants. The Government is committed to holding presentation ceremonies for claimants who so wish once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Version 5 – 2020-06-16 – Source: D Parl A Supps (B) note, “LGBT Purge Class Action Final Settlement Agreement”

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