Mamabear,
I just got off the phone with my RMS clerk friend (she is in a cell that deals with PRETC troops to some degree or the other as it turns out), she pointed me immediately to the exact reference you found in the Aide Memoire. She then also said if they own a house, she shouldn't be paying for her quarters but will have to pay for rations.
I then asked about the Common Law status. If they meet the requirements under CFAO 19-41, and their common law status would be effective prior to her COS date, that would change the entire outcome.
Also, the last point she made was that when she is done of her course, and posted, she will have a new COS date, and on that COS date, she would have been previously married and maintained a residence, and as a now-QL3 qualified mbr of her trade, she will be entitled to posting allowance, etc which she will get all the details from this via
CF IRP.
There are many many many rules and regulations, some of them covered in CBIs, some in the QR & Os, some in the DAODs, CFAOs, etc etc and to be properly informed, you should always have the reference that states clearly if there is/is not an entitlement.
While I was on the phone, I asked my friend if they get annoyed if/when people ask for the reference that states where there is no entitlement and she said "no, we don't get annoyed at that, we do get pissed off at the people that try to get around what the reg's say once we have shown them to them though".
So, now the question is...do they qualify for Common Law Status? It is important to note Para 5 of CFAO 19-41, which states:
5. The continuous period of at least one year referred to in subparagraph (2)(c) of QR&O 1.075 may include periods of involuntary separation for such reasons as temporary duty, attached posting or unaccompanied posting (eg, a six-month UN tour). However, the couple must have resided together as husband and wife during the remainder of the one-year period .
So, short version of that, if they were living together before she left for BMQ, the time they lived together AND the time they have lived apart involuntarily (i.e. since she has been away on training) counts.
However, also very important is the wording of Para 3:
A commanding officer may, upon application by a member in the manner prescribed in orders issued by the Chief of the Defence Staff, recognize the member's common-law relationship where the member establishes by affidavit or statutory declaration signed by both persons in the relationship that they...
The
may means its the CO's decision, period.
Hope this helps some.
Worst case scenario is this is a temp situation that will (should) not happen again after she completes QL3 and is posted.