Canadian Forces members lose benefits

OTTAWA – Former Canadian Forces employees who are hired by the federal public service are not being treated fairly when it comes to calculating their vacation entitlements says Peter Stoffer, Official Opposition Critic for Veterans Affairs and Jack Harris, Official Opposition Critic for Defence.

“It does not make sense that former Canadian Forces members who start a new career with the public service are not entitled to bring their CF vacation leave credits with them - especially when former RCMP members were extended these benefits a couple of years ago,” said Stoffer. “Retired CF members who join the federal public service should be allowed to carry over their acquired vacation entitlements from their time in the Forces. I urge the government to move quickly to fix this issue.”

The Canadian Forces are not listed as a department, agency or separate employer under the Public Service Labour Relations Act and Financial Administration Act; therefore, they are not considered part of the Public Service. This definition then precludes former CF members, now employed as federal public servants, from using their previous service time when calculating vacation entitlements.

“It is grossly unfair that Canadian Forces members would be discriminated against in this way,” said Harris. The government has already granted these entitlements to the RCMP – they should do the same for members of the Canadian Forces.”

Following a Federal Court of Appeal decision, the Treasury Board Secretariat has included the RCMP in Schedule IV of the Financial Administration Act and former RCMP members are able to count their previous years of service in the RCMP towards their public service vacation leave entitlement.

“We have heard from many retired Canadian Forces personnel who are annoyed that the federal government does not recognize their former service years as public service and want the same recognition that was granted to the RCMP. They are insulted by these policies considering many of them have served twenty to thirty years in the military. We urge the federal government to fix this problem and ensure that these Canadian Forces members are extended these benefits.