# 2020-132 Careers, Initial counselling

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-08-24

The grievor asserted that the initial counselling (IC) he received inaccurately described the alleged incident. According to the grievor, the comments he made to his immediate supervisor were neither threatening nor insulting and could not constitute insubordination. The grievor maintained that while statements made by the chain of command (CoC) in the unit disciplinary investigation (UDI) indicated that he has displayed insubordinate behavior in the past, he had not received any documentation or counselling reflecting this. The grievor asserted that the UDI was misleading, contained biased information and did not disclose all the facts.

The Initial Authority (IA) found that the grievor's CoC was reasonable in issuing the IC, but that the wording used in the Personnel Development Review (PDR) was excessive. The IA acknowledged that, in spite of the grievor's belief that the comments he made to his supervisor were neither threatening nor insulting, the grievor’s behavior was in fact unacceptable and did not meet the standard. The IA further added that, in accordance with the Canadian Forces Personnel Appraisal System, the purpose of a PDR is to provide feedback to Canadian Armed Forces personnel. The grievor received feedback on the incident, but the language used was different from that used in the IC. As a result, the IA directed that the grievor's PDR be amended to be consistent with the description of the deficiency reported in the IC, including removal of the word 'insubordinate'.

The Committee found that sections 5b and 5c of the grievor's PDR did not reflect the evidence of impartial witnesses and decision makers and that these sections contained assumptions about the grievor’s  intentions and the  effect of the incident. As such, the Committee concluded that the PDR did not comply with the applicable policy and did not serve its intended function. The Committee also concluded that, given 34 months had passed since the initial incident and the fact that the grievor's subsequent Personnel Evaluation Reports show nothing but a positive attitude and support for his team and supervisors, the PDR and the IC should be rescinded and removed from the grievor's personnel records. 

FA decision summary

The Commander Royal Canadian Air Force, acting as Final Authority, agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that redress be afforded to the grievor. The FA directed that the PDR and the IC issued to the grievor, along with any related documentation, be removed from his personnel files.