# 2019-136 Medical and Dental Care, Allowance - Loss of Operational allowances

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-10-27

The grievor was repatriated from a deployment in Iraq because of stress. The repatriation order did not indicate that the reason was medical. According to the grievor, the operational environment in Iraq revived memories of traumatic experiences in connection to a previous deployment. The grievor was denied an allowance for loss of operational allowances (ALOA) on the grounds that there was no connection between his injury and his deployment in Iraq. The grievor alleged that the operational environment in Iraq made him ill and that the fact that the clerk had neglected to indicate the reason for the repatriation on the message caused him harm.

The Initial Authority (IA) dismissed the grievor's claim on the grounds that he had failed to establish that his illness was the result of his deployment and that there was a causal connection between his injury and the environmental conditions during his special duty service in Iraq. The IA therefore concluded that the grievor was not entitled to ALOA.

The Committee also found that the grievor did not meet any of the three conditions set out in the Compensation and Benefits Instructions, namely, the environmental conditions (not the operational conditions); an enemy or non-combatant attack; or an act that would constitute an offence under the Code of Service Discipline. For this reason, the Committee found that the grievor was not entitled to ALOA and recommended that the Final Authority (FA) not grant the grievor redress.

FA decision summary

The acting Chief of the Defense Staff approved the Committee's findings and recommendation not to grant the grievor redress.