Scenario: All Equal

Group Size: 4-15

Scenario

You are the 2IC of a section that is preparing for deployment. As the deployment date approaches, martial status and dependants determine the priority for Leave Travel Assistance (LTA). Your immediate supervisor has determined the list based on members’ Military Personal Record Resume (MPRR) information and has posted the leave dates before the deployment, permitting members to make arrangements.

One of your augmentees has completed the work-up training with the unit for the past five months. Her MPRR indicates her marital status as common-law with two children. However, when the final list was distributed, she was surprised to see her name at the bottom of the list, amongst the single members, meaning that she will be one of the last picked for leave.

When she asked your supervisor why she was not higher on the priority list, she was told that, since her common-law partner is a woman, she does not have ‘real kids’ or a ‘real family’. He told her to either accept the position on the list or return to her home unit and not deploy over seas.

She comes to you and is very upset by this approach. What do you do?

Categories

• Principles: Respect the Dignity of all Persons, Obey and Support Lawful Authority         
• Values: Integrity, Courage
• Cultural themes: Identity, Leadership, Teamwork
• Misconduct types: Hateful Conduct, Abuse of Power, Discrimination, Employment Inequity
• GBA Plus themes: Sexual Orientation, Marital Status  
• Audience: Defence Team

Facilitator’s Guide

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) policies pertaining to marriages and common-law partnerships, including those of same gender or queer relationships.
• Discuss how sexual orientation and family status are prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Facilitation Questions

1. How does the CAF ensure that members in common-law partnerships have the right to enjoy the same recognition and benefits as persons in marriages, including those of same gender?
2. On which possible grounds of discrimination do the supervisor’s comments fall into?
3. Which principles of the Department of National Defence (DND) and CAF Code of Values and Ethics have not been followed?
4. What influence has the new hateful conduct policy on that situation?
5. How does the harassment policy come to play in that situation?

Other points to consider:

• Supervisors must be familiar with CAF policies (The Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces (QR&O), CAF General Messages (CANFORGEN), CAF Military Personnel Instructions (CF Mil Pers Instr.)) pertaining to marriages and common-law partnerships including those of same gender.
• Members must understand that sexual orientation and family status are prohibited grounds of discrimination, as expressed in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
• The First Principle, Respect the dignity of all persons, expresses that everyone be treated with fairness and that inclusion is a step towards creating and maintaining workplaces that are free from harassment and discrimination.
• Carrying out our duties in accordance with legislation, policies and directives is a way of supporting lawful authority, as expressed in the Second Principle, Obey and support lawful authority.
• The hateful conduct policy identifies possible interventions for acting on beliefs which could be informal administrative action like conversation, clarification, or sensitivity training.
• The supervisor’s actions and comments could well be described as abuse of power and discriminatory practice and would need to be observed under the harassment policy and the Human Rights policy.