# 2024-034 Pay and Benefits, Administration of Operational Allowances, Meal Expenses

Case summary

F&R Date: 2024-09-19

The grievor challenged the amendment to the Compensation and Benefits Instructions for the Canadian Forces (CBI) 10.4.02 made by the Treasury Board (TB), effective 1 March 2022, which had the effect of limiting future meal allowances exclusively to members on deployment, or attached posted or  attached posted (temporary), in cases where meals are not already provided. Given that he had obtained a prohibited posting outside Canada when the CBI were amended, the grievor considered it discriminatory not to have been able to keep the same benefits throughout the same period. The grievor also found it unfair that some members deployed abroad in conditions similar to his own, that is, with no possibility of moving dependants to the place of duty, would continue to receive the meal allowance solely because of their posting type. As redress, the grievor requested that a vested rights clause apply to his situation in order for him to receive the allowance retroactively for the period from 1 March 2022 to the end of his posting.  

The Director General Compensation and Benefits, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), found that the grievor had been treated in accordance with the applicable policies and refused to grant the redress requested. In her decision, the IA said that when the revised policy came into effect, the grievor no longer met the criteria needed to receive the meal allowance. As the amendment falls under the jurisdiction of the TB, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) do not have the authority to override such a decision. The IA also specified that the changes made to the instructions concerning meal allowances were primarily intended to reflect the changes made in other departments, in order to ensure fairness with respect to benefits.  

The Committee concluded that the grievor had not been aggrieved and that the argument that he was treated unfairly compared with other members serving abroad was unfounded. The TB's policy amendments are not intended to harm or disadvantage members, but rather to strike a balance between the benefits of members and those of government employees who are in similar situations. In addition, the grievor nevertheless continued to receive certain benefits described in CBI Chapter 10, which members in one of the other situations were not entitled to. However, the Committee acknowledged that it would have been preferable for the CAF to inform members of the implementation of such a change.  

In this case, the Committee also wanted to remind the CAF that, in order to maintain trust in the organization, it is essential that, when denying a grievor's grievance, decision-making authorities be able to justify the rationale behind the policies in effect.