Speech at the Family Medicine Forum

Family Medicine Forum

Vancouver, BC
November 9, 2016

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Dr. Kuljit Kaur Sajjan

Thank you for your kind introduction. 

It is a treat to share the podium with my husband, and to speak about a topic about which we are both so passionate – caring for Canadian military families.

I am here, today, first and foremost, as a physician. I’m a political wife now, so I get to see Harjit more than I did when he was deployed, but I have been a military wife and spent time with the spouses, partners, and children who support the women and men who serve our country.

I have seen the pride and joy, and also the depths of sorrow that these families sometimes experience. I can testify to their tremendous strength and resilience. But there are days when even the toughest of us need extra support. 

I certainly felt isolated at times during Harjit’s deployments. You can be surrounded by thousands of people, or even close friends, but very few people understand what it is like to have a loved one overseas, in harm’s way.

Just like Harjit is so proud to be able to draw upon his personal experiences to serve our women and men in uniform as Minister of National Defence, I am proud that I can put my personal experience to work in my practice as a family physician caring for military families. Their needs are often different from other patients.

It can be hard to establish a relationship of trust and care with patients when many are with you only for a short time between postings. Yet, I know how critical it is that doctors make room in their busy schedules for military families, and how essential it is that primary caregivers develop a greater understanding of these patients’ needs. 

Because family doctors can, and do, have positive impacts on the lives of these individuals. 

But as a family physician, I know that doctors may also need support to do so. For that reason, I am thrilled that we are launching a new tool that will provide reliable information about military families and their experiences.

The Family Physicians’ Guide will go a long way in preparing doctors to provide compassionate and patient-centred care to members of military families. It will ensure that physicians are well-equipped to mitigate the challenges faced by Canadian Armed Forces members and their loved ones.

Now, I’d like to introduce someone who you might know as Canada’s Minister of National Defence, but who I am proud to call my husband, Harjit Sajjan.

Minister Sajjan

Thank you, Kuljit. I’ve given many speeches in my new role as a politician, but this is the first time I’ve had the honour of sharing a podium with you. As usual, I’m in awe of the intelligence and grace with which you approach everything in life, whether it is how caring you are with your patients, or how forgiving you are of me when I say I will be out of town again over the weekend.

Just like I am honoured you have chosen to spend your life with me, I am honoured to share this podium with you. When I was serving in the reserves, or deployed to Afghanistan, sometimes all that got me through the day was knowing that you would be there when I got home.

As you said, it can be difficult for people outside the Forces to understand the strain military life places on the family of our serving Canadian Forces members.

I agree that one of the biggest issues they deal with is frequent moves. Among many challenges, this can make it hard to find and keep friends, school, a career, and yes, a family physician.

Families of military members do not receive medical care through the Canadian Armed Forces. They depend on services provided by provincial and territorial health care systems. So, they count on family physicians to make space for them in their practices – freeing up a spot when one military family is posted to make way for another.

That is not their only challenge. Long separations during deployments, and the absence of a parent and partner can create difficult family dynamics that few in civilian life experience.

Not to mention deployment to war, which can be part of military life, and which increases the risk of injury – physical or mental.

These situations create additional pressures for military families. Knowing a loved one is in a high-risk war zone – one you can see on the nightly news – takes its toll on the spouse and children left behind.

When a military member returns home after becoming ill or injured during deployment, they rely primarily on their family for support and care. That kind of care is very demanding and requires a great degree of selflessness – one that can result in adverse health impacts for caregivers, too. I have seen this repeated all too often during my career in the Forces. 

So I applaud everyone here for not only recognizing, but working to address, the physical and mental health problems afflicting military members and families. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of interest and support from community leaders anxious to rally behind them. Our Guide is an outstanding example of that support.

This is extremely important to me as Minister of Defence. Members of the military can only perform well if they know their families are supported while they are away. The welfare of the family is critical to our ability to send folks out the door when duty calls.

Today marks an important step in ensuring this community is treated more equitably. It brings the National Defence team together with civilian community partners in support of Canadian military families. 

There are so many people to thank today for their determination to make a difference. I want to pay tribute to the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) … the Military and Veteran Families Leadership Circle … my own Military Family Services team… and the organizers of the Family Medicine Forum. 

I want to mention, too, the Vanier Institute of the Family … the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research … as well as the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University in Indiana for their input and inspiration.

I particularly want to acknowledge Dr. Cathy Faulds, Past President of the CFPC. Her leadership was instrumental in developing the valuable new resource we are launching today.

I am equally indebted to the many civic leaders here for their vision in developing this guide, and for being part of this group of caring Canadians. 

I am also grateful to family physicians, from coast to coast to coast, who are stepping up and taking on the challenges confronting military families across the country.

But most of all, I want to salute the courageous women and men in uniform and their families. I am so pleased to mark a significant step toward ensuring that Forces members are given the customized healthcare they need and deserve. Especially this week, as we highlight Remembrance Day, we recognize the value of their work more than ever.

Thank you for coming forward and sharing your stories of the unique stresses associated with military life. Your stories remind us of our duty as a society – the duty to look out for your families while you make great sacrifices to protect and defend us.

I look forward to working with all of you as we do our part to meet this goal. Thank you.