# 2025-166 Medical and Dental Care, Deployment selection

Case summary

F&R Date: 2026-03-12

The grievor contested the denial of a medical waiver for international deployment. She argued that her medical condition was assessed as low risk by the Director of Medical Policy (D Med Pol), that the level of assessed risk was accepted by herself and by the in-theatre chain of command (CoC), and that she had previously been deployed to that theatre of operations with the same medical condition, thereby creating precedence to approve the waiver. She argued that the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) Command Surgeon (C Surg) failed to take into consideration the specific working conditions in which she would be employed and that the location of her deployment had accessible medical facilities nearby to treat her condition in the event of a medical emergency. 

The Commander CJOC, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), denied the grievance finding that the decision to deny her medical waiver was fair, formed within the proper command prerogative and was policy compliant. The IA explained that D Med Pol's finding of low risk was not to be used as a clinical assessment and did not absolve the force employer of their responsibility to consider each request on its own merits. The IA then found that the CJOC C Surg gave proper consideration for the risk to the grievor, risk to the unit and risk to the mission, and that the reasons for the denial were sufficiently explained in the CJOC C Surg's comment in the medical waiver request form. 

The Committee determined that the policy framework established in Defence Administrative Orders and Directives (DAOD) 5009-0, Personnel Readiness, DAOD 5009-1, Personnel Readiness Verification Screening, and the CJOC Directives for International Operations 1000 series Section 3 – Personnel Administration, affords the chain of command (CoC) discretion to assess the risk posed by a medical condition at the time of screening and determine whether the risk is acceptable.

The Committee found that even though D Med Pol had assessed the grievor's condition as low risk, they also indicated that an additional Unit Level Administrative Review would be required prior to deployment. The Committee then found that the medical waiver process consulted the appropriate individuals for medical and operational advice, sufficiently documented the grievor's condition at the time of screening, including the fact that her condition had evolved since her previous deployment and had assessed the risks to her health as well as the limitations to providing her care in-theatre. 

The Committee ultimately found that the CJOC CoC followed the appropriate policies and procedures and appropriately exercised their command discretion to deny a medical waiver for deployment. The Committee recommended that the Final Authority deny redress.