# 2025-081 Releases, Medical Condition, Release - Compulsory, Release - Conduct/Performance

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-12-01

The grievor contested his release from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) under item 5(f) in the table found in the Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces 15.01. He maintained that his medical condition, although it did not excuse all of his conduct deficiencies, resulted from his service. He also pointed out the fact that the decision to release him under item 5(f) was made before he could obtain a permanent medical category. The grievor requested that the CAF review the decision to release him, so as to take the medical aspect of his file into account when assigning the reason for release, so that he could obtain the necessary services and care.

The Director General Military Careers, as the Initial Authority (IA), stated that he had relied on the medical advice from the Director Medical Policy (D Med Pol) to determine whether the grievor's unacceptable conduct could be related to his medical conditions. The IA also upheld the decision of the Director Military Careers Administration by specifying that a review of the reason for release would consist only of adding the word “disabled” to item 5(f), in order to enable the grievor to have access to some supplementary benefits. 

The Committee stated that it had reviewed the grievor's medical file to determine whether the reason for release was reasonable and  compliant to the applicable provisions. The Committee specified that, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Chief of the Defence Staff in 2011, an release under item 3 (“Medical”) could be considered even if the grievor had not yet obtained a permanent medical category. The Committee noted that the grievor's health problem constituted a medical condition recognized according to human rights. The Committee pointed out that the objective of analyzing the cause is not to justify the conduct, but to determine whether the misconduct is related to the grievor's health problems, which was confirmed by the expertise of the D Med Pol. The Committee concluded, after the review of the grievor's complete medical file, his disciplinary record, and his medical history since his enrolment, that it is more likely than not that there is a causal connection between his unacceptable conduct and the state of his health. The Committee recommended that release item 5(f) be replaced by release item 3(b).