Relationships with the outside security and defence research community will also be enhanced. Security and defence analysts not only provide the Department and the Forces with valuable policy advice, they play a critical role in establishing strong links with the Canadian public. The Department will continue to maintain close ties with academics and other defence experts through the Security and Defence Forum. Create a Department-funded military journal with its own editorial board, based at the Royal Military College. The journal will publish articles by military and civilian specialists on Canadian security and defence.
Parliament plays a prime role in stimulating informed public debate on defence matters.
The Government has during this mandate significantly enhanced this role. The Parliamentary Committees reviewing Canada's defence and foreign policies carried out extensive and unprecedented public consultations in 1994. The Government has also held a number of Parliamentary debates on major foreign policy and defence issues, including Canada's role in multilateral peace operations in Haiti and the former Yugoslavia. Continue to work to enhance the role of Parliament and its committees in their consideration of security issues and, in particular, ensure that the Department and the Forces are responsive to the need for Parliamentarians to be well informed in a timely manner. Have the Chief of the Defence Staff prepare an annual state of the Canadian Forces report which the Minister of National Defence will submit to the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs.