Sample Cases
Category: Benefits
A Roller Coaster Ride
A reserve member called our Office in tears. She had a newborn baby and had been
seriously injured in an accident a few weeks after starting maternity leave. She
was concerned that she wouldn’t have a job to return to after her 12-month
leave. The member took a civilian job, and then was informed that she might have to
pay back a portion of the maternity benefits she had just received. Her benefits
were paid by both the CF and Employment Insurance (EI), but the two bureaucracies
weren’t speaking to each other and no one would give her a straight
answer.
The investigator called the member’s unit, then continued up the chain. A military administrator in Ottawa assigned an analyst, who determined that the member did not have to pay back any money to the CF, and the member was then able to resolve her issue with EI.
Despite the positive outcome, the military administrator in Ottawa was disappointed that the issue took nine months to resolve—and only after it had been brought to her attention by the Ombudsman’s Office. She encouraged the unit to take a more proactive role when other bureaucracies are having a negative impact on members’ lives. She commented: “I think it is the decent and responsible thing to do as the member’s employer.”
