# 2019-020 Careers, Education Reimbursement Policies

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-02-18

The grievor, a member of the Primary Reserve (P Res), disputed the refusal to reimburse him for the fees of the initial program in police patrolling offered by the École nationale de police du Québec. The grievor was notified that the course was not eligible for reimbursement at that time. According to the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA), the program became eligible later, namely in August 2016, when the Université du Québec and the École nationale de police du Québec entered into an agreement providing university credits for this training that could be used toward obtaining a bachelor’s degree in public safety. The grievor, having learned that another member had received a reimbursement for the same course, requested to be reimbursed but was refused.

The Initial Authority denied the grievor's request for reimbursement, maintaining that the training in question had not been included in his Individual Learning Plan (ILP) and that an ILP could not be accepted retroactively, unless the CDA's Appeals Committee determined that there were grounds for accepting the request, which was not the case for the grievor.

The Committee found that the program in question met the criteria for reimbursement established in January 2005, the date on which the Université du Québec and the École nationale de police du Québec agreed to grant university credits for this training. Given that the grievor had not added the course to his ILP as a result of inaccurate information he had received from the Canadian Armed Forces, the Committee determined that he was aggrieved and recommended that he be reimbursed for the training. The Committee further recommended that members of Primary Reserve (P Res), who submit requests for reimbursement for having completed such training before August 2016, be reimbursed without requiring an ILP to have been filed at the time, to the extent that the training is consistent with the member's learning path.

FA decision summary

The Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, acting as Final Authority (FA), did not accept the Committee's recommendation to order reimbursement of the tuition fees for the initial training in police patrolling. She was of the opinion that the grievor had been reimbursed in accordance with the applicable provisions. The FA once again consulted the CDA, which had initially denied the grievor's request, and she accepted the conclusion that there had been no administrative situation beyond the grievor's control that would have enabled an exception to the policies in effect in order to accept the ILP retroactively. It appears that at the time of the events, the École nationale de police was not recognized and registered as an accredited educational institution, and consequently did not meet one of the essential eligibility criteria, even though a number of similar requests had been approved, in error according to the FA. Consequently, the FA did not accept the Committee's recommendation that the CDA reimburse the Primary Reserve members who submit a request for reimbursement for that training completed by August 2016, without requiring that an ILP had to have been submitted at the time, as long as that training is consistent with the member's learning plan.