Minister’s message

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, MP

It is my pleasure to present the Departmental Results Report for fiscal year 2017-18. This year we launched and started implementing Canada’s new defence policy – Strong, Secure, Engaged. The policy is a detailed, 20-year roadmap to help address our security and defence challenges.

To ensure the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces have the critical capabilities to meet those challenges, Strong, Secure, Engaged commits to the largest defence modernization in decades. We know that to achieve our objectives, the Defence Team must be properly resourced with stable, predictable, and realistic funding. That is why we have ensured our policy is rigorously costed and fully funded over its 20-year timeframe. Over the next 10 years, defence spending will grow to $32.7 billion – an increase of more than 70 percent.

I am proud of how much the military and civilian members of the Defence Team accomplished to implement Strong, Secure, Engaged in its first year. Expanding resources for military families, modernizing and greening Defence infrastructure to reduce our carbon footprint, smart pledges to UN peace operations, and steps to ensure timely equipment procurement are just a few examples.

At the same time, the Defence Team collectively contributed to missions to keep Canadians safe at home and to support global peace and stability. In Canada, that included more than 4600 military personnel assisting provinces when several communities across the country were affected by fires and floods. Worldwide, more than 7900 Canadian military personnel were engaged in over 20 operations, including in Latvia, Iraq and Ukraine.

The work done and the work still to do to implement Strong, Secure, Engaged makes a real difference to the Defence Team’s well-being and operational effectiveness, as well as to Canada’s security and a more stable world.

The pages ahead provide Canadians and parliamentarians with more information about the Defence Team’s accomplishments in 2017-18. Ultimately, the initiatives in Strong, Secure, Engaged are about supporting our people. Looking ahead, Canadians can be confident that we will continue to make the investments they will need to deliver on the important work Canada asks of them.

 

Original signed by:

 

The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, PC, OMM, MSM, CD, MP

Minister of National Defence

Page details

Date modified: