Four-month CDS grievance limit
Petitioners ask the House of Commons to amend regulations to require the Chief of the Defence Staff to complete military grievance resolutions within four months.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would force faster decisions, reducing prolonged distress and uncertainty for service members awaiting grievance outcomes.
- A legally mandated deadline would increase accountability and incentivize more efficient grievance handling within the Canadian Armed Forces.
- Petitioners cite CAF data showing grievance investigations averaged about 1,924 days, arguing a four‑month cap would address such extreme delays.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- A fixed four‑month deadline could be impractical for complex cases that legitimately require more time to investigate and adjudicate.
- Imposing legal timelines may shift resources toward speed rather than thoroughness, risking lower-quality investigations and unfair outcomes.
- Parliamentary enforcement could duplicate or complicate existing CAF reforms and internal review mechanisms already aimed at improving timelines.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled The military grievance process's key aspect is its ability to resolve complaints effectively and efficiently; Present circumstances allow the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) unlimited time to solve a grievance; This lapse in the regulation can cause unjust delays, leaving the grievance carriers in prolonged distress and uncertainty; Instituting a four month time cap on grievance resolution by the CDS would ensure a swifter resolution for those affected, encouraging accountability and efficient service within the Defence department; According to statistics from the Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman 2017-18 annual report, grievance investigations lasted an average of 1,924 days, or more than five years; The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has recently made internal changes to the grievance process, and this petition is intended to hold the CAF responsible to a higher authority with legal or parliamentary consequences for failure to meet appropriate timelines regarding the CAF grievance process; and This petition has additional challenges not experienced by the typical Canadian citizen, as members of the CAF are not afforded all the rights afforded to citizens, as they are not allowed to sign petitions regarding the CAF. We, the undersigned, Canadian citizens in support of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to amend the current regulation, which allows the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) an unlimited time to respond to grievances, to impose a four month time limit for the CDS to complete a grievance process.
Government response
No government response is available yet.