Recommendations on Systemic Issues

There are 2 issues related to topic "Accuracy of Information by Recruiters".

Topic

Case number

Issue

The Board noted that, in the past year, it had received an increasing number of grievances dealing with incorrect and misleading information provided by Recruiting Centres upon enrolment of individuals. In October 2008, the Board reported to the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces (CF):

The Board has consistently found that new recruits are entitled to expect accurate and complete information from CF Recruiting Centres. After reviewing a number of such complaints, the Board has concluded that, in simple fairness, the CF has a moral obligation to provide relief to individuals who have been prejudiced by their reliance upon erroneous information they received.

In previous cases dealing with serious errors found in enrolment messages, the Board has repeatedly made systemic recommendations to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) regarding the need to amend the current enrolment forms to include specific details regarding the proposed rank and financial benefits, in an effort to reduce misunderstanding during the enrolment process. In his decisions, the CDS has maintained that he was satisfied that the Commander Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG) had taken the necessary steps to ensure that enrolment procedures were handled with due diligence. The CDS also determined that the occurrence of misleading information given to enrollees had not reached the level of being a Canadian Forces (CF) systemic issue, and therefore he felt that it did not require him to act. Finally, in a recent decision, the CDS reiterated that he was satisfied with the steps taken, but agreed to forward the Board's recommendation to the CFRG for their consideration and action, if deemed necessary.

The Board understands that the number of cases that have reached it in the last several years represent only a very small percentage of the total amount of new recruits enrolled in the CF each year. However, the seriousness of the errors and their impact on the individuals involved should suffice to raise concern at a systemic level.

While the Board agrees that the steps taken by the CFRG should help in reducing the number of mistakes made in the enrolment process, it is not confident this will be sufficient to eliminate possible misunderstandings, misleading offers, or errors relating to the determination of rank and salary.

Recommendation

The Board recommended that the CDS direct that a message be sent to all Recruiting Centres to remind them of the importance of diligence in presenting accurate offers to potential recruits and that this message be followed up to ensure that the recruiting process is as efficient and consistent as possible.

The Board also recommended that the CDS direct an amendment to the enrolment form to ensure that it includes clear and specific information regarding pay and any other recruitment benefits, thus allowing applicants to make fully informed decisions.

Final Authority Decision

Topic

Case numbers

Issue

In the past year, the Board has received an increasing number of grievances dealing with incorrect and misleading information provided by Canadian Forces Recruiting Centres (CFRC) upon enrolment of individuals. On this issue in October 2008, the Board reported to the senior leadership of the CF:

The Board has consistently found that new recruits are entitled to expect accurate and complete information from the CFRC. After reviewing a number of such complaints, the Board has concluded that, in simple fairness, the CF has a moral obligation to provide relief to individuals who have been prejudiced by their reliance upon erroneous information they received.

In previous cases dealing with serious errors found in enrolment messages, the Board repeatedly made recommendations on systemic issues to the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) regarding the need to amend the current enrolment forms to include specific details regarding the proposed rank and financial benefits, in an effort to reduce misunderstanding during the enrolment process. In his decisions, the CDS has maintained that he was satisfied that the Commander Canadian Forces Recruiting Group (CFRG) had taken the necessary steps to ensure that enrolment procedures were handled with due diligence. The CDS also determined that the occurrences of misleading information given to enrollees had not reached the level of being a CF systemic issue, and therefore he felt that it did not require him to act. Finally, in a recent decision, the CDS reiterated that he was satisfied with the steps taken, but agreed to forward the Board’s recommendation to the CFRG for their consideration and action, if deemed necessary.

The Board understood that the number of cases that have reached the Board in the last couple of years represented only a very small percentage of the total amount of new recruits enrolled in the CF each year. However, the seriousness of the errors and their impact on the individuals involved were sufficient to raise concern at a systemic level.

Recommendation

Given the systemic nature of this issue, along with the serious consequences to applicants who rely on information provided to them by the recruiting system to make “life-changing” decisions, the Board recommended that the CDS request the CF Ombudsman to investigate this matter and to make recommendations to the CF.

Final Authority Decision