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National Military Family Council Update

Since its inaugural meeting in December 2009, the National Military Family Council (NMFC) has been busy working out the details of how the Council will bring a voice for military families to the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces (CF).

While the NMFC is busy working on their foundational documents, Director Military Family Services (DMFS) thought it would be helpful to provide a rough timeline for the Council’s activities to give a better idea of where the Council started, how its taking shape, and where its work is headed next.

To date –

October 2009: The Chief Military Personnel (CMP) tasked DMFS to recruit and select members for a new council of military family members to advise the CF leadership on family policy issues. The call for volunteers went out, and eight Council members were selected from over 75 applicants.

December 2009: The NMFC held its inaugural meeting with Armed Forces Council (AFC), the most senior leadership of the CF. NMFC members discussed their reasons for joining the Council, their vision for the future, and the CF family service areas they would most like to see improved.

January 2010: Pleased with the outcome of the first NMFC meeting, the CMP decided to broaden the scope of the Council. He tasked DMFS to select additional members to join the NMFC to ensure that there was representation from all regions in Canada, as well as the US and Europe.

March 2010: The expanded Council met for the second time to welcome their new members, and to meet with the CMP. The CMP discussed his reason for expanding the Council: more proactive regional representation to allow for more engagement with CF families and communities. With this expanded role in mind, Council members began work on their vision, mission, and terms of reference.   

June 2010: The NMFC met for the third time to further discuss how they will become a voice for military families, and to continue creating foundational documents to define their roles and responsibilities.

What’s next –

July-August 2010: The NMFC will continue to work towards finalizing their mandate and terms of reference. The Council is also working on their strategy for engaging and communicating with the CF families and communities they represent.

September-October 2010: The Council is slated to meet with Armed Forces Council again in late September or early October. The NMFC will share their thoughts on the proposed family services enhancements, which will be presented to the Armed Forces Council by DMFS. The NMFC will also present their mandate and terms of reference for Armed Forces Council’s approval. Once approved, the mandate and terms of reference will be posted on the DMFS website.

October-November 2010: Now that the NMFC has been stood-up, responsibility for the Council is slated to shift from DMFS to the newly established Director Quality of Life. DMFS will continue to provide support to the NMFC and incoming Director Quality of Life staff to ensure that the transition is a smooth one, and that the NMFC stays true to its original intent of giving a voice to military families on a broad range of CF policy issues.