# 2019-095 Pay and Benefits, Education Reimbursement Policies

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-02-20

The griever, a member of the Primary Reserve (P Res), contested the refusal to reimburse his expenses for the initial program in police patrolling at the École nationale de police du Québec. According to the information he received, that training was not eligible for reimbursement at the time when the griever requested it. The Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) indicated that the program became eligible later, in August 2016, when the Université du Québec and the École nationale de police du Québec signed an agreement granting university credits for that training toward a bachelor's degree in public security. When the griever later learned that another Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member had been reimbursed for the same training, he requested reimbursement and was refused.

The Initial Authority denied the griever's request for reimbursement, stating that an Individual learning plan (ILP) cannot be admitted retroactively, unless the CDA Appeals Committee decides that there are reasons to accept the request, which was not the case for the griever.

The Committee found that the program in question had met the criteria for reimbursement since January 2005, the date on which the Université du Québec and the École nationale de police du Québec agreed to grant university credits for that training. As the griever had not included the training on his ILP due to erroneous information he had received from the CAF, the Committee concluded that he had been treated unfairly and recommended that he receive reimbursement for the training. The Committee also recommended that P Res members who apply for reimbursement for this training completed before 2016 receive the reimbursement, without the requirement that an ILP had to have been submitted at the time, as long as the training is consistent with the member's pedagogical path.

FA decision summary

The Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority (DCFGA), acting as Final Authority (FA), did not agree with the Committee's recommendation to order the reimbursement for the grievor's training fees for the basic police training that he took. The DCFGA was of the opinion that the grievor had been treated in accordance with applicable provisions. The FA again consulted the CDA, which had initially denied the grievor's request, and it agreed with the determination that there was no administrative situation outside the grievor's control that could allow an exception to policies in effect to accept the ILP retroactively. It appears that at the time, the National Police Academy was not recognized or registered as an accredited educational institution and that, as a result, it did not satisfy one of the essential eligibility criteria, even though a number of similar requests had already been approved, albeit by mistake, according to the FA. Consequently, the FA did not agree with the Committee's recommendation that the CDA reimburse P Res members who submit a request for reimbursement for this training, completed before August 2016, without requiring an ILP be submitted at the time, since this training is consistent with the military educational approach.