# 2021-171 Pay and Benefits, Counselling and Probation

Case summary

F&R Date: 2022-02-21

The grievor contested the remedial measure (RM) he received after posting comments on social media. The grievor claimed that he was not provided all the information pertaining to the investigation and that he was not afforded sufficient time to make his representations given his operational involvement at the time. The grievor stated that the Initiating Authority advised him that regardless of his submissions, he was going to receive a RM, which is in his view unfair. The grievor maintains that his social media account had strict privacy settings and that the work he had done to overcome a previous and less severe RM for similar conduct was not being considered in the decision. As redress, the grievor requested that the RM be removed from his records.

The Commanding Officer of Canadian Joint Operational Command Headquarters acting as Initial Authority (IA), denied the grievor redress. The IA determined that while the grievor had not been provided with the entire extension he requested to make his representation, the time he received was reasonable. The IA stated that social media is not a private platform, and that the grievor's posts were critical of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). As this was the continuation of a previous conduct deficiency from the grievor, the IA determined that it was appropriate to issue a second and more severe RM. The IA stated that regardless of the potential bias shown by the Initiating Authority, the fact remains that the grievor had continued to make social media posts critical of both the CAF and CAF senior leadership.

The Committee found that the grievor had not been provided with a reasonable amount of time to make his submission to the Initiating Authority given his responsibilities at the time and that he was not provided with a proper disclosure but that these procedural inconsistencies had been cured through the grievance process. The Committee found that the available evidence did not support the claim made by the grievor that the Initiating Authority showed bias. The Committee found that a social media is not private, and that the posts made by the grievor were a continuation of the grievor's previous conduct deficiency for which he had RM. The Committee found that this more severe RM issued to the grievor was appropriate and issued in accordance with the applicable policies.

The Committee recommended to the Final Authority (FA) to deny the grievor redress.

FA decision summary

The Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, acting as FA, agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation not to grant the grievor redress.