They do some of the most challenging work – not just across Canada, but abroad.
While Canadian Forces members are busy following orders, it’s their families that hold down the fort during and after posting season. And it’s those struggles that brought Canada’s Defence Minister to CFB Gagetown to announce a new initiative aimed at reducing some of those struggles.
“It’s about easing the burden every time we post a member of our military to a different wing, a base, around the country, often in different provinces or territories,” explained Minister Harjit Sajjan on Tuesday.
The program entitled Seamless Canada will help make military moves less stressful for families. It will help families streamline some of the more tedious tasks they have to deal with when moving from province-to-province.
It could be anything from finding a new school, doctor, daycare, even getting a new license and vehicle registration.
“Our defence policy clearly states that the number one priority is looking after our women and men in uniform and their families. We need to make this better,” said Sajjan.
The defence minister met with leaders from across the country in June to discuss how improvements can be made to the relocation experience. In New Brunswick, Premier Brian Gallant has committed to helping eliminate any red tape surrounding access to health care and daycare.
“This exercise will help us identify what each level of government can do and certainly I don’t want to put them on the spot, I’m sure there’s some things the municipal governments can do as well to ensure a seamless transition for the families,” Premier Gallant explained following the announcement.
The program will be rolled out at different times across separate parts of the country New Brunswick will be first to launch the pilot project, as it’s home to the second largest base in Canada.