# 2019-212 Pay and Benefits, Allowances and Benefits

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-10-23

The grievor challenged the denial of her request for reimbursement of lease liability expenses she incurred following her enrollment in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). As redress, she requested reimbursement of the penalty she paid her landlord to "buy out" her remaining lease.

The Initial Authority found that the grievor did not meet the conditions for lease liability reimbursement set out in applicable policy and denied redress.

The Committee found that the grievor was not eligible for lease liability reimbursement provided in the Compensation and Benefits Instructions (CBI) because when she vacated her lease, her dependant did not move with her to her posting location but found other, less expensive accommodations at her place of enrollment. The Committee also found that the grievor was not eligible for the exercise of Ministerial discretion pursuant to the CBI because this discretion applies only to relocation expenses “that are not specifically provided for” in the CBI. In the grievor's case, the CBI specifically provides for lease liability reimbursement.

The Committee then considered whether the grievor was eligible for an alternative remedy based on her claim of detrimental reliance on negligent representation. Applying the test set out by the Supreme Court in Queen v Cognos, [1993] 1 Supreme Court Report 87, the Committee found insufficient evidence to establish that the recruiting centre clerk had advised the grievor to buy out her lease or promised her that her reimbursement claim would be accepted. As this criterion of the test was not established, the Committee found that the grievor was not entitled to an alternative remedy. It recommended that the Final Authority (FA) not afford the grievor redress.

FA decision summary

The FA, the Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, agreed with the Committee's recommendation that the grievor not be granted redress. The FA found that the grievor was not eligible for reimbursement of rent or lease liability pursuant to the relevant policy and that the grievor was not subject to a negligent misrepresentation by the CAF regarding reimbursement for lease liability.