A Federal Court judge has dismissed the grievances of seven Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who suffered significant financial losses after being forced to sell their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, following transfers to other detachments.
Substantial Losses on Fort McMurray Properties
The officers, who were posted to the northern Alberta city between 2012 and 2016, lost between $165,000 and $325,000 each when they sold their properties between 2019 and 2021. The sales occurred after they received mandatory transfers to postings in other provinces, including British Columbia and Quebec.
One of the members, Constable Andrew Brock, purchased a home in Fort McMurray in 2012 for $820,000. After receiving a transfer to the Burnaby detachment in B.C. in 2019, he sold the house the following year for $260,000 less than his purchase price. Brock also reported spending $40,000 on renovations and paying a $65,000 mortgage shortfall to his bank, representing a total loss of 35 percent on his investment.
A Changed Policy and a Depressed Market
The core of the dispute lies in a change to the RCMP's relocation policy. When the officers were initially posted to Fort McMurray, a Treasury Board policy from 2009 was in effect. It promised 100 percent reimbursement for home equity losses if a property was sold in a "depressed market," defined as a decline of 20 percent or more.
However, that policy was amended in 2017. The new terms reduced compensation for such losses to 80 percent and imposed a cap of $30,000. Additional, limited funds were available through a flexible spending account for moving expenses.
Fort McMurray's real estate market was severely impacted by the devastating 2016 wildfire. Constable Samuel Metivier, for example, bought his home for $377,000 in 2015. Upon a transfer to Quebec, he sold it in early 2020 for just $185,000—a staggering 51 percent loss in value.
Court Upholds RCMP and Adjudicator's Decision
The seven officers each filed individual grievances, arguing the 2009 policy should apply retroactively as it was the one in force when they accepted their postings in Fort McMurray, which were designated as "limited duration posts" of at least five years.
After their grievances and subsequent appeals to an adjudicator were denied, the group jointly applied for a judicial review in Federal Court. In her recent decision, Federal Court Judge Elizabeth Heneghan found no error in how the RCMP or the adjudicator handled the cases. She ruled that the force was entitled to apply the policy in effect at the time of the members' relocations, not the one from when they were first posted.
The judge's ruling means the Mounties will not receive compensation beyond the amounts already provided under the 2017 policy, leaving them to absorb the bulk of their six-figure losses personally.
