The first major review of Canadian defence policy in close to two decades is tentatively scheduled for next week.

Several sources told iPolitics that the government is aiming to release the Defence Policy Review, which was launched last summer and is expected to outline the strategic and spending priorities for Canadian defence policy under the Liberal government, on either May 10th or 11th.

That announcement would come one week after a briefing scheduled to be made by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to defence researchers and stakeholders Wednesday at a special presentation jointly organized by the Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces, Conference of Defence Associations & CDA Institute. The minister is set to make an address titled Towards a new Defence Policy for Canada.

Members of the Senate national security committee are also set to meet in camera on Wednesday to consider a draft report on their study of issues related to the Defence Policy Review. Term extensions granted in March to the four members of the minister’s special advisory committee expired on April 28.

The order in council listing their extensions stated the special advisors — former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, former foreign affairs and defence minister Bill Graham, former chief of defence staff Gen. (Ret’d) Raymond Henault, and former deputy secretary to the cabinet on matters of security and intelligence Margaret Purdy — were needed to help finalize the report.

In addition to public consultations held over last summer, the government also hosted six stakeholder roundtables in Toronto, Vancouver, Yellowknife, Edmonton, Montreal and Halifax with defence industry insiders to get their perspectives on the main challenges to Canada’s security, the role of the military in addressing current threats and the resources and capabilities needed by the military to carry out its mandate.

Budget 2017 contained no new details about Canadian defence spending despite mounting demands from U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO allies to meet the agreed-upon target of allocating two per cent of the GDP to defence spending.

Officials at the time said the lack of any detail in the budget defence spending was due to the pending release of the Defence Policy Review.

Canada currently spends roughly one per cent of its GDP on defence.