# 2022-069 Careers, Discrimination

Case summary

F&R Date: 2023-05-12

The grievor contested the Progress Review Board's recommendation to remove him from training, alleging that he was subjected to harassment and discrimination while on course the Basic Military Officer Qualification (BMOQ) Army. The grievor further submitted that his halal meal accommodation request that was not fulfilled, resulted in his malnutrition while on course and ultimately compromised his physical abilities. The grievor argued that the BMOQ staff did not properly adhere to the Defence Administrative Order and Directive – 5516-3, Religious or Spiritual Accommodation, in the handling of his religious food services request which he allegedly raised multiple times, including upon enrolment in the Canadian Armes Forces, to his home unit via a religious accommodation food services form, and on multiple occasions while on course. As redress, the grievor requested that his course performance be reviewed, and that he be granted his BMOQ-Army course qualification.

The Initial Authority (IA), found that the grievor had been aggrieved, but could not grant the remedy the grievor sought. The IA noted that the course staff did not direct the grievor to fill out a new religious or spiritual food services document, despite acknowledging the grievor's overall accommodation request for halal meals on religious grounds. The IA also noted that the grievor was never provided with an opportunity to meet with a Food Services Officer to discuss his specific meal requirements, as per the applicable policy. Despite the preceding acknowledgments, the IA stated that the grievor could not be granted a qualification for a course he had not completed, nor for which he had not demonstrated the applicable skills and knowledge through a Prior Learning Assessment.

The Committee found that the grievor's need (for religious accommodation) was obvious and legitimate, and that while the grievor did not fill out new food services accommodation request form upon arrival at the BMOQ, the training staff could have simply informed the grievor of the requirement. Furthermore, the Committee found that the grievor made every other effort to inform his superiors and food services staff of his needs. The Committee acknowledged that the grievor may not have followed all of the proper steps in accordance with the applicable provisions in raising his request but found a “common-sense” approach should have prevailed, given that course staff were aware of the proper administrative process, and that the support base had the resources and capacity to fulfill the request. The Committee also found that the remedial sanction the grievor received for bringing up his religious accommodation needs was improperly administered and found that the grievor had a legitimate and time-sensitive reason to escalate his issue. Ultimately, the Committee found that the Canadian Armed Forces failed to provide religious accommodation to the grievor, and demonstrated a lack of sensitivity to the issue by administering a remedial sanction to the grievor when he brought it up.

The Committee recommended that a plan be crafted in which the grievor could be re-coursed on a later serial while ensuring that his accommodation needs are met, and, upon successful completion of the BMOQ-Army, that his qualification and associated career impacts be back-dated to reflect a graduation from the serial he originally attempted. The Committee further recommended that all documentation relation to the grievor's remedial sanction (relating to going outside the Chain of Command) be removed from his course file and personnel records (if applicable).