# 2019-118 Careers, Selection Boards

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-10-28

The grievor contested the selection of a member from another unit and another trade for the position of Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of his unit in the Canadian Army (CA) Reserve. The grievor claimed that not only was he the only member of the unit in the rank of Master Warrant Officer with all the necessary qualifications who was eligible for promotion to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer (CWO), but his chain of command had never given him any negative work-related feedback and had offered no explanation as to why he had not been selected. The grievor pointed to his previous personnel evaluation reports, which recommended that he be appointed RSM, and he asked to know why he had not been chosen.

The Initial Authority (IA) concluded that the RSM selection process for the unit in question had been conducted according to the rules. However, the IA acknowledged that the grievor had not been given the reasons why he had not been selected and asked the unit commanding officer (CO) to provide the grievor with this information.

The Committee noted that an appointment to the position of RSM is not something to which a member is entitled. That said, the Committee found that the RSM selection process for CA Reserve units in the division in question was rather informal and that the selection criteria were not formally established, thus leaving too great a level of discretion in the hands of the CO. The Committee noted that the process favoured the selection of a member from within the same unit, while members selected from another unit had to be vetted by the division second-in-command. However, no report was produced either for the selection process or for the vetting process. All things considered, the Committee found that the process that had been applied was not consistent with the spirit of the principles that apply to Canadian Armed Forces selection Committees. The Committee asked the CO in question about the reasons why the grievor had not been selected and found that, while the CO cited the grievor's having shown an outdated leadership style, the same CO had recommended the grievor's appointment as unit RSM in the personnel evaluation report for the period in question. The Committee therefore concluded that there were no valid grounds to support the decision not to select the grievor. Consequently, the Committee recommended that the grievor be considered in the next candidate selection for established positions at the CWO level within his formation and division.

FA decision summary

The Final Authority (FA), the Acting Commander Canadian Army, agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that the grievor's application should be considered transparently and on the basis of his service record in the next selection for unit regimental sergeant-major positions as a CWO. Since the grievor was ultimately selected for the appointment in January 2021, the FA was satisfied that the grievor had been afforded the redress he sought.