Grievance Case Summary - G-599

The Grievor was deployed at the Sommet de la Francophonie from October 13 to 19, 2008. When he arrived at the hotel, the Grievor learned that he had to share his room with another RCMP member for the duration of his deployment. The Grievor did not grieve this decision.

When he returned from his deployment, the Grievor submitted a claim for private non-commercial accommodation allowance of $50 per night set out in the Treasury Board Travel Directive (TBTD). The Grievor explained that, since sharing his room did not meet the standard set by the TBTD for rooms in a commercial accommodation, it no longer met the definition of commercial accommodation. Consequently, the only definition that applied to his room was that of private non-commercial accommodation. According to the Grievor, he was therefore entitled to the allowance set out for this type of accommodation.

During the grievance process, the Grievor requested that the Level 1 Adjudicator, who had denied an incidental application for disclosure, recuse himself. The Grievor stated that the Level 1 Adjudicator, still assigned to the file, was in a conflict of interest further to this denial.

The ERC concluded that the Grievor had not discharged his burden of proof to show that there was a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the Level 1 Adjudicator. The ERC concluded that the fact that a Level 1 Adjudicator made an unfavourable decision on other questions concerning a grievor does not in and of itself raise a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The ERC concluded that the TBTD contained no provision stating that compensation would be granted simply because he had to share his room. While the TBTD establishes a standard in terms of commercial accommodation, a standard is not absolute, and the Grievor nevertheless stayed in a hotel.

The ERC recommended to the Commissioner of the RCMP that he deny the grievance.

The Commissioner has rendered his decision in these matters, as summarized by his office:

[TRANSLATION]

The Commissioner denied the grievance, as recommended by the ERC. The Grievor was not eligible for the private non-commercial accommodation allowance of $50 per night set out in the TBTD as the Grievor stayed in a commercial accommodation.