What's New: CFGB Visits CFB Petawawa

February 09, 2012

Members of the CFGB delegation with an armoured fighting vehicle.

On February 9, 2012, a delegation from the Canadian Forces Grievance Board (CFGB), headed by the Director of Operations and General Counsel, Caroline Maynard, visited the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Petawawa.

During the visit, the Board's delegation met with senior leadership, staff officers and personnel of the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG). Ms. Maynard gave a presentation to stakeholders involved in conflict resolution at the base and answered questions about the Board’s independent role within the military grievance process.

Base and Unit visits provide the Board with a more accurate picture of current real-life conditions in the Canadian Forces (CF); they allow us to speak to CF members directly about the Board’s mandate and mission; and also create an important forum for direct exchanges about issues and concerns related to complaint resolution, Ms. Maynard said. During the visit, we met many exceptional people and we were able to see, first-hand, the impressive abilities of the men and women serving in 2 CMBG, she added.

The delegation toured selected facilities and took the opportunity to closely examine armoured fighting vehicles such as the Coyote Reconnaissance. They also witnessed a field training firing exercise.

In addition to the Director of Operations and General Counsel, the Board's delegation included the Senior Counsel, Ann Boivin, Legal Counsels, Lucie Lévesque and Tasha Emmerton, Team Leaders, René Bergeron and Michael MacPherson, Grievance Officers, Sophie Brunette, Nadine Jelowicki, Rhoda Carruthers, Shantie Lithopoulos, Pierre Pepin, and Alan Rigby, Registrar and Assistant to Registrar, Andrée-Anne Paquette and Carol Pereira, as well as Pauline Heyendal, Administrative Assistant to the Director of Operations.

The Board makes periodic visits to Canadian Forces (CF) formations/units to learn about taskings and activities and to see, first hand, CF members in the environment in which they serve. In turn, the Board holds briefings, both formal and informal, where all ranks are encouraged to participate in grievance related discussions.