In April, the Department of National Defence (DND) launched a national conversation about the future of Canada’s defence policy. Following Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s announcement, an advisory panel was tasked with meeting stakeholders across the country, including parliamentarians, academics, and activists.
The review is articulated around three issues: identifying the most pressing security challenges, defining the role of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in meeting those challenges and finally, establishing the appropriate mix of capabilities needed by the CAF to accomplish their missions and tasks successfully.
The current government has, however, already set the broad parameters of what the CAF will be asked to do. In his new government’s throne speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised that “the government will renew Canada’s commitment to the United Nations peacekeeping operations, and will continue to work with its allies in the fight against terrorism”.
