Compensation for ill and injured Reservists

You are on Special Duty Service when you are serving, training, or traveling in a Special Duty Area or as part of a Special Duty Operation. The Minister of National Defence may designate such areas or operations as a Special Duty Area or as part of a Special Duty Operation where members are, or may be, exposed to conditions of elevated risk.

If you sustain an injury, disease, or illness while on Special Duty Service and your period of service has not yet expired, the CAF may extend your service under Compensation and Benefits Instructions 210.72 to ensure you continue to receive pay and medical care.

Benefits

Under this extension, the CAF must continue your pay and medical care according to the Spectrum of Care. For more information on health care entitlements for Reservists on a period of Class C Service, consult Health care for Reservists. 

The CAF may authorize this extension in three-month increments—up to a maximum of 24 months—until you:

• are declared medically fit,
• can resume active participation in the Reserve Force and/or civilian employment, or
• can resume full-time attendance at an educational institution.

Forms

The required documents must be completed and submitted before the end of your period of Special Duty Service.

• If you suffer an injury, disease, or illness while on Special Duty Service, it must be reported to the Director Casualty Support Management using form CF 98 - Report of Injury, Disease or Illness.
• If your case involves a hazardous occurrence, it must also be reported through the chain of command using form DND 663 - DND/CAF Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report.
• Your employing unit Commanding Officer or your parent unit Commanding Officer must complete form DND 2346 - Application for Extension of Class “C” Reserve Service for Personnel Whose Injury or Illness was Sustained on Special Duty Service and submit it to the Director Casualty Support Management.

These forms are only available in the Defence Forms Catalogue of the Defence Team Intranet. If you are unable to access the Intranet, contact your supervisor or your orderly room staff for assistance.

More information

• CANFORGEN 174/07 – “Extension of Class C Reserve Service for Personnel Whose Injury or Illness was Sustained on Special Duty Service” (available on the Defence Team Intranet or by downloading the CAF mobile application)
• Compensation and Benefits Instructions 210.72(13)
• The Guide to Benefits, Programs, and Services, for Ill, Injured, or Deceased CAF Members, Veterans and their Families – Extension of Class "C" for Reserve Service Personnel sustaining injury or Illness on Special Duty Service (SDS)
• Annex C of our investigative report entitled A Systemic Review of Compensation Options for Ill and Injured Reservists

If you earn most of your income as the result of being a Class “A”, “B” or “C” Reservist, you should consider applying for Reserve Force Compensation during a period of injury, disease, or illness (Reserve Force Compensation).

You may be eligible for this type of compensation if you suffer an injury, disease, or illness that a Medical Officer confirms as being attributable to military service and if it continues beyond the period of service during which it occurred.

Benefits

The Reserve Force Compensation benefit equals the pay rate for your rank and Reserve Service class at the time of your injury, disease, or illness or the date of its diagnosis.

Once authorized, your Reserve Force Compensation will continue until you are able to resume or start active participation in the Reserve Force, seek civilian employment, or resume full-time studies at a postsecondary institution.

This compensation can continue at the discretion of the Minister. However, it cannot extend beyond your release date or your treatment completion date.

The CAF also provides Health care for Reservists who suffer an injury, disease, or illness that is attributable to the performance of duty. This care is separate from the Reserve Force Compensation. It applies only to your injury, disease, or illness that is attributable to the performance of duty.

Forms

• If you suffer an injury, disease, or illness attributable to military service, it must be reported to the Director Casualty Support Management using form CF 98 - Report of Injury, Disease or Illness.
• In the case of a hazardous occurrence, it must also be reported through the chain of command using form DND 663 - DND/CAF Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report.
• To apply for Reserve Force Compensation, the form DND 2398 - Reserve Force - Compensation during a Period of Injury, Disease or Illness must be completed and submitted to the Director Casualty Support Management.

These forms are only available in the Defence Forms Catalogue of the Defence Team Intranet. If you are unable to access the Intranet, contact your supervisor or your orderly room staff for assistance.

More information

• Compensation and Benefits Instructions 210.72
• The Guide to Benefits, Programs, and Services, for Ill, Injured, or Deceased CAF Members, Veterans and their Families – Reserve Force Compensation (RFC) During a Period of Injury, Disease or Illness
• The Reserve Force Compensation webpage
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Reserve Force Compensation (RFC);
• Instructions for completing the Reserve Force – Compensation during a Period of Injury, Disease or Illness form
• Know Your Benefits – Reserve Force Compensation
• Annexes D, E and F of our investigative report entitled A Systemic Review of Compensation Options for Ill and Injured Reservists

For additional support, the Reserve Force Compensation section can be contacted by email at ++DCSM 2 RFC - IFR DGestSB@CMP DCSM@Ottawa-Hull or DCSM2RFC-IFRDGestSB@forces.gc.ca.

If most of your income comes from civilian employment, consider claiming compensation by way of the Government Employees Compensation Act.

The Government Employees Compensation Act provides compensation to Government of Canada employees, including Reservists of all classes, who have suffered a work-related injury or illness. This Act does not apply to any Regular Force member.

Under the Act, provincial and territorial workers’ compensation boards are responsible for compensation decisions on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Note that applications under the Government Employees Compensation Act are time-sensitive. Your Commanding Officer must report any injury requiring medical attention or resulting in lost time to the Federal Workers’ Compensation Service of Employment and Social Development Canada within three days.

Benefits

The benefits you seek as a civilian or military employee under the Government Employees Compensation Act may cover: 

• lost wages for a federal government employee (civilian and military), up to a maximum amount set by each province and territory, and
• medical expenses for the work-related injury or illness.

Be aware that your provincial or territorial workers' compensation board will base your earnings benefits on a percentage varying between 75 and 90 per cent. Learn more by consulting your provincial or territorial workers’ compensation board.

How to apply

Your application for compensation under the Government Employees Compensation Act must adhere to the following steps:

• Report your injury, disease, or illness to your chain of command.

• Report your injury, disease, or illness to the Director Casualty Support Management using form CF 98 - Report of Injury, Disease or Illness.
• In the case of a hazardous occurrence, report to your chain of command using form DND 663 - DND/CAF Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report.

• Determine if the potential results of your claim will be better for you if you make it under the Government Employees Compensation Act rather than under Reserve Force Compensation.
• Your unit must complete the appropriate Employer’s Report of Injury Form corresponding to the province or territory in which you normally work (i.e. your parent unit) and submit it to Employment and Social Development Canada.
• Commanding Officer must report your work-related injury requiring medical attention or resulting in lost time to the Federal Workers’ Compensation Service within three days.
• At the same time, a relevant medical professional must complete a Physician’s report to support your claim.
• You must complete a Worker’s Report of Injury Form and submit it, along with the Physician’s report, to your provincial or territorial workers’ compensation board.
• Upon confirming your eligibility, Employment and Social Development Canada sends your claim to the appropriate provincial or territorial workers’ compensation board.
• Then the relevant board determines your claim and subsequently manages it according to the applicable provincial or territorial legislation. 

Be aware that if you are injured outside your parent unit’s province or territory and you are applying for compensation under the Government Employees Compensation Act, your employing unit must use the application forms of your parent unit’s province or territory.

Note as well that the CF 98 - Report of Injury, Disease or Illness and the DND 663 - DND/CAF Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report forms are only available in the Defence Forms Catalogue of the Defence Team Intranet. If you require assistance, contact your supervisor or your orderly room staff.

More information

• CANFORGEN 074/14 – “Reserve Force Compensation During a Period of Injury, Disease or Illness Under the Government Employees Compensation Act (GECA)” (available on the Defence Team Intranet or by downloading the CAF mobile application)
• The Guide to Benefits, Programs, and Services, for Ill, Injured, or Deceased CAF Members, Veterans and their Families – Government Employee’s Compensation Act (GECA) - Disability Benefits
• Federal Workers’ Compensation Service
• Compensation for federal workers
• Annex G of our investigative report entitled A Systemic Review of Compensation Options for Ill and Injured Reservists

If you sustain an injury, disease, or illness while on a period of Special Duty Service which has not expired, you may be eligible for an Extension of your Class C service, regardless of whether your injury, disease, or illness is attributable to military service.

If your injury, disease, or illness did not occur while on Special Duty Service and was not attributable to military service nor was it related to your misconduct or imprudence, you may be entitled to limited benefits under Compensation and Benefits Instructions 210.72(3). These benefits are as follows:

• Your employing unit will pay your salary and allowances until either the end of your period of service or the date you return home, depending on which occurs first.
  • Be aware that Queen’s Regulations and Orders 208.31(4) stipulates that the pay and allowances of CAF members who do not render any military service due to hospitalization are not subject to forfeiture. Therefore, if you are injured for reasons not attributable to military service but remain in hospital, you are entitled to pay and allowances until the end of your authorized service.

• If your period of service has finished, but your condition prevents you from returning home and if your quarters and rations are not provided, you may be entitled to receive compensation according to the Separation Expense rate described in Compensation and Benefits Instructions 208.997.

More information

• Health care for Reservists
• The Military Benefits Browser