# 2025-017 Pay and Benefits, Interim Lodging, Meals and Incidentals

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-11-12

The grievor contested the 45-day limit, set out in Article 12.2.01 of the Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive, when a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member serving outside Canada claims a meal allowance during their relocation. He maintained that he should be eligible for that benefit during the entire period when he and his family were separated from their household goods and effects (HG&E) due to circumstances beyond their control. As redress, the grievor requests reimbursement of the additional costs incurred until the unpacking of their HG&E.

The Director General Compensation and Benefits, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), rejected the grievance. The IA concluded that the grievor had been treated in accordance with the applicable regulations and policies and pointed out that the CAF did not have the power to prolong the payment of a benefit beyond the timeframe specified by the Treasury Board (TB). 

The Committee concluded that the grievor had been aggrieved and found that the 45-day limit was arbitrary and unfair, as it did not take into account delays in shipping goods outside of Canada that were  beyond members' control. The grievor incurred extraordinary legitimate expenses for his meals due to the delay in delivery of his HG&E, over which he had no control. In a previous grievance examined by the Committee, the Final Authority (FA) acknowledged the Committee's systemic recommendation that the TB policy be reviewed in order to fill any gaps and adjust the conditions for entitlement to benefits. The FA had then assigned the Director Compensation and Benefits Administration (DCBA) to present this problem to the TB. In the current file, the Committee recommended that the FA follow up with the DCBA on this subject and request retroactive modification of the policy so that similar cases would be treated equitably.