# 2021-237 Pay and Benefits, Home Leave Travel Assistance

Case summary

F&R Date: 2022-08-03

The grievor was posted Outside Canada (OUTCAN), and his dependant (spouse), household goods and effects were moved at public expense. The grievor's spouse relocated to Canada at no expense to the Crown for employment reasons, while the grievor remained OUTCAN. The grievor travelled to Canada to reunite with his spouse twelve months later, and submitted a claim for Home Leave Travel Assistance (HLTA). His HLTA request was denied by the Administrative Response Centre. The grievor grieved this decision, as he believed the relevant Military Foreign Service Instruction (MFSI) policy was too inflexible since it did not recognize his situation. 

The Director General Compensation and Benefits, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), found that the grievor was not entitled to HLTA based on the grievor not meeting the required criteria in the MFSI policy, given he was posted with his spouse OUTCAN at public expense. The IA also noted that the separation of the grievor and his spouse was not due to Canadian Armed Forces, and denied redress.

The Committee reviewed the relevant MFSI, which defines a member's spouse as a dependant if the spouse resides with the member at the post for a minimum of eight months in a twelve-month period.  The Committee found that this was not the case for the grievor. The Committee also noted that the grievor's spouse was no longer a dependant when the grievor took the HLTA travel. The Committee found that the policy provided that a member deployed is entitled to HLTA if the member has no dependants and is posted. The Committee concluded that these were the grievor's circumstances, and that he was entitled to HLTA travel expenses for reunification with his spouse.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority reimburse the grievor for his HLTA travel expenses. 

FA decision summary

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