Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces host annual Seamless Canada meeting in New Brunswick

Caption

Delegates of the Seamless Canada Steering Committee met in Fredericton, New Brunswick for the annual meeting. Individuals in photo from left to right: Jamie Fox, MLA for Prince Edward Island; Chief Warrant Officer Francois Fleury, DGMP Strat; John Lohr, MLA/Minister responsible for Military Relations for Nova Scotia; Andrea Khanjin, MLA for Ontario; Paul Pike, MLA for Newfoundland and Labrador; Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence; Mary Wilson, MLA responsible for military affairs for New Brunswick; Greg Lawrence, MLA for Saskatchewan; DND/CAF Ombudsman Gregory Lick; Major-General Simon Bernard, DGMP Strat.

Since 2018, the Seamless Canada Steering Committee (SCSC) annual meetings have provided an opportunity for joint efforts between representatives from the provinces, territories, and Department of National Defence (DND) leadership to improve the coordination of services for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families.

For the first time, the SCSC held the annual meeting in Fredericton, New Brunswick on May 24, 2023. During the meeting, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown provided delegates the opportunity to interact directly with CAF members and their families. Representatives were able to learn more about the CAF journey of members and their families and challenges they and their families face when relocating. CAF members shared their experiences with long waitlists for childcare, spousal/partner career and job transition, and finding reliable healthcare coverage for their families.

This year, the provinces and territories focused on spousal employment and pre-viewed the new Seamless Canada website!

• Representatives from provinces and territories focused primarily on a path forward for improving military spousal employment. The Military Spousal Employment Network exists to provide spouses/partners access to employment opportunities upon relocation.
• Work is also ongoing to support job and career transition during relocation. As for next steps, provinces and territories are exploring different scenarios that CAF Members and their spouses/partners may face when relocating. Scenarios will include topics related to seeking a job in a similar field/pay grade, accreditation, language requirements, and support to obtain missing job requirements.

Representatives also had the opportunity to explore the new Seamless Canada website. The website will provide CAF members and their families with resources related to spousal/partner employment, youth and child education, and healthcare available to them based on the province of their posting. This tool will be consistently updated to help support CAF members and their families when they are posted across the country. This website is set to launch in June 2023.

At the conclusion of the conference, delegates signed onto a statement where they recognized the mobility challenges military families face, and re-affirmed their commitment to address these issues through the ongoing work of Seamless Canada. As for next steps, the SCSC will have regular working group meetings throughout the rest of the year focusing on reducing barriers during relocation for CAF members and their families. A new working group is planned to launch later this year with a focus on securing childcare options for military families.