By Julius Melnitzer | January 8, 2025
The National Police Federation, which represents 20,000 Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, has launched a class action claiming the federal government has wrongfully prevented part-time officers from buying back into their pension plan.
In a press release, Brian Sauvé, president and chief executive officer at the NPF, said virtually the entire class of part-time officers consisted of women who reduced their hours for different reasons, including caring for young children, providing additional support to children with a disability or because they were single parents. “In many cases, they were working in rural and remote communities away from their families, where childcare options were limited.”
The union also claims the Supreme Court of Canada decided the issue in 2020 with its decision in Fraser v. Canada. That case engaged an RCMP policy that allowed members who were suspended or had gone on unpaid leave to buy back their pensionable service but didn’t allow members enrolled in a job-share program — under which two full-time members could temporarily work part-time in a single position — to do so. MORE . . .
Julius Melnitzer is a Toronto-based legal affairs writer, ghostwriter, writing coach and media trainer. Readers can reach him at [email protected] or https://legalwriter.net/contact.
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