# 2024-318 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive, House Hunting Trip, Interim Lodging, Meals and Incidentals, Meal Expenses

Case summary

F&R Date: 2026-01-05

The grievor grieved the denial of reimbursement for certain relocation expenses under the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive (CAFRD) when he returned to Canada from an Outside Canada posting in Active Posting Season 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grievor argued that dependants expenses during a House Hunting Trip (HHT) conducted after the change of strength (COS) date were essential and should be reimbursed from core funding. The grievor also claimed that Interim Lodging, Meals and Miscellaneous Expenses (ILM&M) benefit should be extended beyond the prescribed 45 day limit for meal entitlements when a door-to-door move is not possible due to circumstances beyond a member's control.

The Director General Compensation and Benefits, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), partially granted redress. Relying on Compensation and Benefits Instructions for the Canadian Forces (CBI) 208.01, the IA authorized reimbursement for accommodations exceeding city-limit rates due to pandemic-related constraints. However, the IA denied further reimbursement for dependants expenses during the HHT, citing CAFRD 4.2.01, which requires such expenses to be reimbursed from the custom account, which the grievor exhausted for other relocation costs. The IA also denied additional meal reimbursement beyond the 45 day maximum permitted under CAFRD 12.2.01 and relied on Canadian Forces General Message 034/21, which confirmed that pandemic conditions did not authorize an expansion of Treasury Board approved limits.

While acknowledging the extraordinary challenges posed by the pandemic, the Committee determined that the policy clearly defined funding sources and maximum entitlements. The Committee found that the CAFRD 4.2.01 provided for reimbursement of dependants expenses during an HHT from the custom account. However, the grievor had exhausted this account to fund other relocation expenses. The grievor was also reimbursed an additional five days of ILM&M from the core account in accordance with CAFRD 5.07(2) for his HHT conducted after his COS date.

The Committee further found that the grievor was reimbursed the maximum of 45 days for meal expenses as part of ILM&M under CAFRD 12.2.01. The Committee noted that the Final Authority (FA) may wish to request further discussions about the 45 day limit for ILM&M in light of exceptional circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, or another force majeure.  

The Committee recommended that the FA not afford the grievor redress.