# 2024-082 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Forces Housing Differential, Post Living Differential, Provisional Post Living Differential

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-03-26

The grievor contended that the termination of the Post Living Differential (PLD) allowance was unfair. The grievor stated that this allowance weighed heavily on her decision to accept a posting to Toronto in 2021. The grievor noted that she was entitled to $0 under the Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD), and that as a married service couple (MSC) the cancellation of PLD meant that her family would suffer a loss of over $2,200 per month. As redress, the grievor requested that she receive equivalent compensation until such time that she is posted out of the Toronto PLD Area. She also recommended that greater notice be given in the future for such changes, and that a transitional approach for those that will suffer a financial loss be implemented.

The Director General Compensation and Benefits (DGCB), as the Initial Authority (IA), denied the grievance. The IA acknowledged that the transition from PLD to CFHD had caused some members to see a reduction in the amount received monthly for allowances. The IA stated that it is understandable that a period of adjustment is required for those families to adapt to the new fiscal realities created by the elimination of PLD. Consequently, DGCB worked with the Treasury Board (TB) to create a Provisional Post Living Differential (PPLD) allowance. This allowance provided families transitioning from PLD to CFHD for up to three years to adjust to their new fiscal reality. The IA concluded that the CFHD had already been established and approved by TB, and the grievor's request for the economic loss between the original PLD and the PPLD cannot be granted.

The Committee highlighted that Compensation and Benefits Instructions for the Canadian Forces (CBI) article 205.4535(4) (Entitlement) limits entitlement to PPLD to Regular or Reserve Force members who were entitled to either PLD or Transitional Post Living Differential on 30 June 2023. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have no authority or discretion to pay the grievor PLD or PPLD except as authorized by the TB in the CBI.

The Committee found that the grievor was entitled to receive a share of PPLD, as a member of an MSC. However, when her spouse retired from the CAF, the grievor's PPLD should have increased. As a result, the Committee found that the grievor was aggrieved in the administration of her PPLD since her allowance should have been augmented once her MSC status ceased.

The Committee recommended that the Final Authority afford redress.