# 2019-216 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Forces Integrated Relocation Program, Long term storage

Case summary

F&R Date: 2020-01-27

The grievor was posted in February 2018 with a change of strength date in July 2018. In February 2018, she sold her residence with a closing date in July 2018. She included all appliances in the sale, planning to take advantage of the Canadian Forces Integrated Relocation Program (CFIRP) Long Term Storage (LTS) incentive benefits. On 19 April 2018, a new version of the CFIRP Directive came into effect, repealing the LTS incentive benefits for all relocations in which the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) member's household goods and effects (HG&E) were packed on or after 19 April 2018. The grievor sought to receive the LTS incentive pursuant to the previous policy version, since she had already finalized the sale of her residence before the change of policy.

The Committee found that there was no authority for the grievor to receive the LTS incentive under the new CFIRP Directive. However, it noted that the transition in the LTS incentive should have been linked to the date a CAF member accepted a legally binding offer on the sale of their residence, rather than on the packing date.

FA decision summary

The Final Authority (FA) agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation, acknowledging that it was unfortunate that the LTS incentive benefit had been cancelled by Treasury Board after the grievor had sold her house, but concluding that since the grievor's HG&E were packed after the change, there was no entitlement. The FA also agreed with the Committee's observation that the CAF should do everything in their power to avoid such situations and brought this to the Director General Compensation and Benefits’ attention.