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The Voice of Family

Like families everywhere, Canadian Forces (CF) families need to be provided with the means to have their concerns and perspectives heard.

Recognizing this challenge, the Military Family National Advisory Board (MFNAB) has been working with Director Military Family Services (DMFS) and the Chief Military Personnel (CMP) to develop a credible, legitimate and accountable strategy to give all military families a voice.

The new approach is two-pronged: MFNAB will evolve into the CF Family Advisory Panel, and the CF Family Secretariat will be created. The Secretariat will communicate with CF families, and the Advisory Panel will communicate with the CF leadership. Working together, they will act as a bridge, connecting the needs of families to the CF leaders who are responsible for ensuring that all the right supports are in place to allow families to respond to the unique challenges of military family life. 

To ensure that the voice of families reaches the ears of policy and decision-makers, the Secretariat will serve as an advisor, advocate and enabler. Housed and staffed at headquarters, this national resource will be broadly advertised and serve as the focal point for families. The Secretariat will stay abreast of  local and national research, will learn of systemic concerns through the Family Information Line, Formal Site Visit Reports, community needs assessments, and MFSP Participant Surveys, and will dialogue openly with CF families, Canadian/Military Family Resource Centre Boards of Directors and Advisory Committees, and the CF leadership.

The Secretariat will then connect to the Advisory Panel by providing information and related research on CF family issues. The Secretariat will also ensure that the volunteer membership of the Advisory Panel receives the support and information needed to bring a legitimate and credible voice to the leadership, and to give them the tools to inform CF policy. The views of the CF Family Advisory Panel will not be filtered; they will brief Armed Forces Council semi-annually on issues and concerns that impact families across the country.