Principles

The following principles were developed jointly by the Bargaining Agents' representatives and the Employer side representatives to the National Joint Council (NJC). These principles are the cornerstone of managing government relocations and shall guide all employees and managers in achieving fair, reasonable and modern relocation practices across the public service.

Trust - increase the amount of discretion and latitude for employees and managers to act in a fair and reasonable manner.

Flexibility - create an environment where management decisions respect the duty to accommodate, best respond to employees' needs and interests, and consider operational requirements in the determination of relocation arrangements.

Respect - create a sensitive, supportive relocation environment and processes which respect employees' needs.

Valuing people - recognize employees in a professional manner while supporting employees, their families, their health and safety in the relocation context.

Transparency - ensure consistent, fair and equitable application of the Directive and its practices.

Modern relocation practices - introduce relocation management practices that support the principles and are in keeping with relocation industry trends and realities; develop and implement an appropriate relocation accountability framework and structure.

General

Collective agreement

This Directive is deemed to be part of collective agreements between the parties represented on the National Joint Council (NJC), and employees are to be afforded ready access to this Directive.

Grievance procedure

In cases of alleged misinterpretation or misapplication arising out of this Directive, the grievance procedure, for all represented employees within the meaning of the Public Service Labour Relations Act, will be in accordance with section 15.0 of the NJC By-Laws. For un-represented employees the departmental grievance procedure applies.

Definitions

Actual and reasonable expenses (Frais réels et raisonnables) -

  1. the actual expenses incurred, supported by proof of payment, e.g. receipts and vouchers;
  2. and the reasonable amount that the employer judges to be both appropriate and justifiable based on experience of what such costs should be in the circumstances, and within the limits of this Directive.

Appointee (personne nommée) - a person recruited from outside the public service and appointed or on assignment to a department or agency listed in Schedules I and IV of the Financial Administration Act. On relocation to the first place of employment, a person is deemed not to be an employee for the purposes of this Directive. Members of the Canadian Forces on initial appointment to the public service are considered to have the status of appointees.

Arm's length transaction (opération sans lien de dépendance) - an arm's length transaction is one that is consummated between two or more non-related parties. Conversely, a non-arm's length transaction is any transaction consummated between two or more related parties.

  • Related individuals include direct-line descendants (grandparents, parents, children, and so on), as well as spouse or common-law partners, brothers, sisters, and in-laws.
  • Related individuals also include non-immediate family members such as cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.

In transactions considered to be non-arm's length, participants have the potential to manipulate a transaction for their benefit.

ATM Charges (Frais d'utilisation des GAB) - charges by financial institutions for transactions conducted via automatic teller machines.

CRA Non-Accountable Incidental Expense Allowance (Indemnité de faux frais non à justifier de l'ARC) - an allowance that employees do not have to account for upon relocation i.e. receipts are not required but should be retained.

Commercial Accommodation (logement commercial) - lodging facilities such as hotels, motels, corporate residences or apartments.

Contracted Relocation Service Provider (CRSP) (fournisseur de services de réinstallation (FSR)) - private sector company contracted by the federal government to administer the relocation services for employees in accordance with this Directive.

Crown-owned living accommodation (logements de l'État) - living accommodation owned, leased, rented or whose occupancy is otherwise controlled by the Government of Canada.

Dependant (personne à charge) - a person who resides full-time with the employee at the employee's residence, or a person who resides outside the employee's residence and for whom the employee has formally declared a responsibility for assistance and/or support, and who is:

Note: a formal declaration may be either a signed statement by the employee or a legal document.

  1. the spouse of that employee, or
  2. the biological child, stepchild, adopted child including a child adopted by aboriginal people under the Custom Adoption Practice, or legal ward of that employee or of the employee's spouse who is both dependent on the employee for support and is:
    1. under 18 years of age, or
    2. dependent on the employee by reason of mental or physical disability, or
    3. in full-time attendance at a school or other education institution that provides training or instruction of an educational, professional, vocational or technical nature; or
  3. the parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or grandchild of that employee or of the employee's spouse who is both dependent on the employee for support and is:
    1. under 18 years of age, or
    2. dependent on the employee by reason of mental or physical disability, or
    3. in full-time attendance at a school or other education institution that provides training or instruction of an educational, professional, vocational or technical nature.

Deputy head (administrateur général) - in relation to a department, the deputy minister; and in relation to any other part of the public service, the chief executive officer, or, if there is no chief executive officer, the person designated by the Governor in Council as the deputy head for the purposes of the Public Service Employment Act.

Employee (fonctionnaire) - a person employed in the federal public service who is performing continuing full-time duties of a position and whose salary is paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (employees performing continuing full-time duties on a seasonal basis are also included). The term also means a deputy minister, or any other person appointed by the Governor in Council to a position classified within the occupational groups comprising the Senior Management, Administrative and Foreign Service, Scientific and Professional, and Technical categories.

Employee-requested relocation (réinstallation à la demande du fonctionnaire) - a relocation resulting from a formal request made by an employee for compassionate or other personal reasons and for which the costs involved are to be reimbursed in accordance with Part XII.

Employer (employeur) - Her Majesty in right of Canada as represented by the Treasury Board, and includes persons authorized to exercise the authority of the Treasury Board.

Household goods and effects (effets mobiliers) - the furniture, household equipment and personal effects of an employee or appointee and dependants, but does not include automobiles, livestock and pets.

Integrated Relocation Program (IRP) (Programme de réinstallation intégrée) - the Integrated Relocation Program (IRP) is the framework that governs the relocation of employees of all federal government departments, the Canadian Forces (CF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This Directive outlines the provisions and benefits applicable to represented employees.

Integrated Relocation Program Rates/fees (IRP Rates/Fees) (Taux et frais pour le programme de réinstallation intégrée) - contracted ceiling amounts the CRSP will charge the federal government for providing services in areas such as: real-estate brokerage fees, legal fees, building inspection fees etc.

Interim accommodation (logement provisoire) - refers to days for which living expenses are paid at the new place of duty when an employee is unable to move into the new residence.

Isolated post (poste isolé) - a place named in Appendix A of the Isolated Posts and Government Housing Directive.

Living expenses (frais de subsistance) - the expenses incurred for food and overnight accommodation. It may also include incidental expenses such as laundry, valet service, gratuities, local telephone calls and local transportation, as specified in this Directive.

Mobile home and double-wide removable home (maison mobile et maison mobile double) - are considered to be synonymous terms for purposes of this Directive and mean a transportable, detached, single-family dwelling which is an employee's principal residence and which contains by design the normal amenities for continuous year-round occupancy. The unit is connected to utilities and is designed to stand on a specially prepared site, although these preparations do not include a permanent foundation. The unit is designed and built to be towed or moved by road. This definition does not include: a lean-to or other attached living space, fencing or similar items, travel trailers, camping trailers and the like, or any type of self-propelled vehicle such as a motor home or pick-up coach.

New principal residence (nouvelle résidence principale) - a single-family dwelling purchased or rented at the new place of duty which will become the employee's principal residence following the relocation.

Non-Accountable Incidental Expenses Allowance (Indemnité pour frais accessoires non soumis à une justification) - an allowance that employees do not have to account for upon relocation i.e. receipts are not required but should be retained.

Part-time employee (fonctionnaire à temps partiel) - part-time employee means a person whose normal scheduled hours of work are less than those of a full-time employee in accordance with the collective agreement, but not less than one-third of those hours.

Pet (animal de compagnie) - any animal that normally resides in the family home and is kept for companionship (if the animal is allowed in the living room, it can be moved). Large animals such as horses or sheep or large numbers of domestic animals, such as a cattery, or a kennel of dogs, are not considered pets.

Permanent/Regular Workplace (lieu de travail permanent/régulier) - the single permanent location determined by the employer at or from which an employee ordinarily performs the work of his or her position or reports to.

Personal Motor Vehicule (PMV) (véhicule automobile personnel - VAP) - for purposes of shipment, means a sedan, sports car, station wagon, mini van, pick-up, or 4-wheel drive vehicle of three-quarter ton rating or less, registered in the employee's name or in the name of the spouse or common-law partner, or a dependant, the primary purpose of which is for family conveyance. This definition excludes racing cars, campers, and any other vehicle which does not meet the above criteria.

Place of duty (lieu de travail) - the single permanent location determined by the employer at or from which an employee ordinarily performs the work of his or her position or reports to. The place of duty of employees who are employed as Ships' Officers or Ships' Crews shall be deemed to be a suitable structure, as determined by the employer:

  1. at the location of the home port of their vessels, for employees whose normal duties are performed aboard a vessel; or
  2. at the location where employees normally perform their duties when they are not employed on a vessel.

Principal residence (résidence principale) - a single-family dwelling owned or rented and occupied by the employee or dependant residing with the employee, which was occupied continuously at the time the relocation at public expense was authorized and which is recorded as the employee's permanent address on the departmental or agency personnel file. Temporary or seasonal accommodation is excluded from this definition.

Receipt (reçu) - an original document or carbon copy showing the date and amount of expenditure paid by the employee.

Relocation (reinstallation) - the authorized move of an employee from one place of duty to another or the authorized move of an employee from the employee's place of residence to the employee's first place of duty upon appointment to a position in the public service.

Self-contained accommodation (logement autonome) - a commercial accommodation that is equipped so that employees may prepare and consume meals. This accommodation may also have laundry facilities.

Single-family dwelling (habitation unifamiliale) - living quarters containing the normal amenities necessary for continuous year-round occupancy. The dwelling must be structurally separate and have an entrance or entrances from outside the building or from a common hall, lobby, vestibule, or stairway inside the building.

Spouse or common-law partner (conjoint ou conjoint de fait) - the term "common-law partner" refers to a person living in a conjugal relationship with an employee for a continuous period of at least one year. The term "spouse" refers to the person married to the employee.

Temporary accommodation (logement temporaire) - accommodation for which living expenses are paid at the start and/or the end of the relocation to the new place of duty or both.

Transferee (personne transférée) - the employee being relocated from one place of residence to a new destination to perform duties of a position within the public service.

Travelling expenses (frais de voyage) - the transportation and living expenses incurred en route to the new place of duty.