Minister's message

I am pleased to present the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Departmental Plan for 2018-19. This report provides parliamentarians and Canadians with information on the results we plan to achieve during the fiscal year ahead.

As the Minister of National Defence, my overarching goal is to ensure members of our armed forces are equipped and prepared, supported and sustained to protect Canada and Canadians. Over the coming year, we will remain focused on the investments necessary to deliver the resources and capabilities needed for a modern, relevant, combat-ready military.

Our efforts will be concentrated on implementing Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy ⁱ and the initiatives within it. The policy, released in June 2017, presents a new vision and approach to defence that will ensure the CAF has the ability to anticipate new challenges, adapt to changing circumstances, and act with the right capabilities to defend Canada and support international security and stability. We will continue our efforts to increase diversity within the CAF. The CAF must reflect the population we serve. We will work towards inclusive approaches to building sustainable peace and security by supporting the deployment of women peacekeepers. We will continue to renew nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous Peoples.

Strong, Secure, Engaged is comprehensive, rigorously costed, and provides direction on how to achieve our new vision for defence and deliver on Canada’s defence priorities over the next 20 years. It includes:

• People are at the core of everything we do. We will foster well-supported, diverse and resilient people and families with a wide range of initiatives that will transform how we care for and support our people, from recruitment through transition to post-military life. This commitment requires timely mental and physical health care for our women and men in uniform. It requires an array of benefits and services to support them. It also means ensuring a respectful and inclusive work environment, including for our civilian employees who carry out a variety of functions critical to delivering the Defenceⁱⁱ mission. We appreciate that diverse personnel create a strong, flexible military able to respond with unique talents and perspectives to a variety of operational requirement. Going forward, this will require managing our military and civilian workforces under a single human resources strategy to ensure we have the right number of people, in the right positions, with the necessary skills to get the job done. Throughout, our commitment to respect and inclusion is reflected in the continued integration of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) across all defence activities, from design and implementation to procurement and operational planning.
• Growing and enhancing CAF capability and capacity by providing our people with the training, skills and capabilities they need to do the difficult and complex work we ask of them, and return home safely. The CAF must be ready to conduct eight core missions, as well as meet the government’s expectations for 12 concurrent operations. This requires our military to have the right capabilities, and an appropriate balance of Regular, Reserve and civilian personnel. The Reserves are our citizen soldiers, and we will increase their ranks and provide them with the support they need to continue to make valuable contributions to our national defence. In addition, the department and the CAF will align their strategic and operational plans to ensure the CAF is able to conduct the full range of operations from helping Canadians in times of need, to making meaningful contributions to international peace and the security of allies.
• Innovation is a priority of the Government of Canada and will have a tremendous impact on Defence. We have the continued means to tap into the expertise and innovation available outside of government. We will identify needs and compete for the best ideas to take advantage of the most creative concepts that academics, universities, and the private sector can generate. We will also continue to support a strong federal cyber governance system to plan for Canadian security in the digital age. Innovative technology, research, and new ways of doing things will help us better support our people, enhance the military’s ability to mitigate threats, and provide the CAF with the tools they need to perform their important missions. Defence will support innovation across the board, from helping foster promising new ideas to enabling real-world trials that will put new technology in the hands of the CAF. Strengthening our approach to innovation will provide the CAF with the know-how and technological edge to succeed as security challenges continue to evolve.
• Modernizing the business of Defence by continuously improving the way we work. This includes streamlining the procurement process, looking at new ways of delivering critical infrastructure services, continuing to build upon success in developing capabilities in program analytics, and working to deliver results for Canadians. It also means being a responsible steward of the environment by seeking out opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint, minimizing the impact of CAF activities on the natural environment, and managing resources responsibly.

I am confident in the ability of the women and men of the department and the CAF to implement the initiatives outlined under each of these areas in this 2018-19 Departmental Plan, while building on the commitments set out in my Mandate letter ⁱⁱⁱ from the Prime Minister.

 

Original signed by:

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, MP
Minister of National Defence