National Defence Policy Revew Town Hall Held In Surrey

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Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Surrey MP Randeep Sarai hosted National Defence Policy Review Town Hall with Surrey residents last week.

SURREY – MP Randeep Sarai hosted a townhall public consultation on Canada’s defence policy review alongside the Minister of National Defence, Harjit Sajjan last week.

The Department of National Defence has launched a nationwide consultation process- the first of this magnitude in over twenty years – as part of an open and transparent dialogue with Canadians in developing a new defence policy.

Sarai, MP for Surrey-Centre, a strong advocate of national defence concerns, knows that there are many soldiers currently serving in the military, along with close to fourteen-thousand veterans, which call Surrey home.

“During the town hall consultation, there was a proportional representation of youth, seniors, reservist, veterans and different ethnic groups from Surrey-Centre,” says Sarai. The government of Canada is placing emphasis on a number of mandates, and protecting Canadians is one of them. This is why it is important that the needs and expectations ofour military are addressed adequately. All together there were nearly fifty attendees.

Sarai added, “he invitedthe Minister of National Defence to his public consultation so that could get the firsthand experience of what his constituents’ main concerns are.” Thepublic consultation at SFU Surrey’s Campus was aimed at gathering feedback on how we can balance our priorities, respond to Canada’s emerging challenges, and how to invest in our Armed Forces (CAF).

Also present at the consultation were, City of Surrey Mayor Linder Hepner, Fleetwood – Port Kells MP Ken Hardie, and Joseph Waugh representing the Whalley Veteran’s Legion. When asked to comment on the public consultation, the Minister Harjit Sajjan and his staff stated that this consultation provided them with valuable feedback, and that they were impressed with dialogue during the town hall. According to one individual, the level of participation during last week’s consultation was higher than from some of Canada’s military towns that have already hosted public consultations.

Over the next few months, similar consultations will be engaging Canadians. If you missed the opportunity to participate in the public consultation, you can visit www.canada.ca/defence-consultations until July 31st, 2016 and submit your feedback.