# 2022-294 Careers, Beard Policy

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-04-15

The grievor stated that due to Canadian Forces General Message (CANFORGEN) 158/18, the Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp) decided that beards were no longer tolerable due to Immediate Action Rapid Deployment response requirements. He contested the direction for him to shave his beard and maintained that the direction was discriminatory because it disregarded his Medical Employment Limitation as well as the fact that he had been allowed to don a beard on patrol for the better part of his 15-year career. He maintained that while Annex A to the CF MP Gp Order 2-111 was used to support the new directive, there were very rare events where Military Police (MP) would be required to wear a perfectly sealed mask to protect against opioids.

The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and Commander CF MP Gp, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), found that the grievor had been treated fairly in accordance with applicable policies, regulations, laws and orders, and denied the grievor redress. The IA explained that they were conducting a review of their policy on MP Response to Incidents Involving Opioids, CF MP Gp Order 2-111 Annex A and indicated that they were looking to find protective equipment and operational solutions to ensure that MP members could do their job safely while respecting exemption requests to the requirement of being clean shaven while performing duties associated to frontline policing members. The IA explained that CANFORGEN 158/18 allowed the chain of command to restrict the wearing of a beard to meet safety and operational requirements. Further, the IA stated that the Department of National Defence Respiratory Protection Program (DND RPP) stipulated that to obtain a tight-fitting face piece when using a respirator, users are required to be clean-shaven.

The Committee found that at the time the grievor submitted his grievance, the CF MP Gp's direction for front-line MPs to be clean shaven was reasonable. The Committee noted that the direction took into account the dynamic nature of policing and the elevated level of MP medical first response and relied upon the information and data set out in the DND RPP as well as CF MP Gp Order 2-111.