On Monday July 18^, 2016 MP Joyce Murray hosted a policy café discussion on the future of our country’s defence and veterans policy. We had great turnout for a Monday morning including veterans, active service members, and over 40 members of the community, generating meaningful and creative conversation surrounding the future of Canada’s military contributions at home and abroad. This review was intended to provide the clarity needed to balance priorities, respond to emerging challenges, and invest appropriately in Canada’s military.

 

The following 3 central questions were posed for discussion by tables of participants:

 

1. Should Canada strive to maintain military capability across the full spectrum of operations? Or should we specialize in certain niche areas
2. Our government is seeking to deliver a “one veteran, one standard” approach to care and support. What advice to uphold this promise would you give?
3. What role/s should Canada play in international peacekeeping?Below are some of the key themes and ideas that arose from the two hours of discussion: Defence Strategy

 

 

Below are some of the key themes and ideas that arose from the two hours of discussion:

 

Defence Strategy

 

• Canada should maintain its full spectrum of military operations, continuing to develop and train in specialized areas, but our major “brand” of Canadian military should be peacekeeping
• Canada’s presence in the North needs to be increased
• Climate change should be factored into Canada’s defence policy
• The funding for the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) should be increased and utilized
• There must be appropriate funding for proper equipment to support our military forces
• Federal funding must be commensurate with the level of ambition

 

The People

 

• Instead of a “standard approach” to veteran care and support, there should be an individualized one; different veterans have different needs
• Veterans should be provided with long-term financial support instead of lump sum payments
• Veterans need better long-term psychiatric care, including the assessment and support of those suffering from PTSD
• Legions and other veteran-operated not-for-profits should be utilized to provide some of the care that veterans require
• Mobile care units for veterans in remote communities should be established
• Families need to be factored into the defence policy
• Surviving spouses of veterans should be given more than 50% of the pension after their spouse has passed away
• There needs to be better prevention and stricter penalization of sexual harassment within the Canadian military
• The government needs to cease the Equitas lawsuit

 

Peacekeeping

 

• A clear definition for “peacekeeping” needs to be established
• Emphasis should be placed on “peace-making” rather than peacekeeping, including efforts abroad in the way of humanitarian aid
• Canada should negotiate as part of networks, such as NATO, rather than independently
• The long-term implications of deployments abroad need to be considered

Unfortunately it is too late to submit any input at this point but if you are interested, you can find the results of the Defence Policy Review with the link below:

http://dgpaapp.forces.gc.ca/en/defence-policy-review/docs/defence-policy-review-consultation-paper.pdf