Sajjan defends request to use soldiers as backdrop for Diljit Dosanjh concert

Canada's emergency preparedness minister is defending an official request he made to use Canadian soldiers as a backdrop for a concert by Punjabi pop star Diljit Dosanjh, one of India's biggest actors and singers.

As first reported in The Globe and Mail, Harjit Sajjan received a letter mid-April asking if Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members would participate in Dosanjh's show in Vancouver on April 27.

According to a statement from Sajjan's office, the minister then forwarded the request «along with his endorsement» to Minister of National Defence Bill Blair, who passed the request onto the CAF.

«Minister Sajjan agreed the concert would be a good opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces to engage with and expand connect to a diverse community of young Canadians, along the lines of the CAF outreach and recruiting events at professional sporting events,» Sajjan's press secretary Joanna Kanga told CBC News in an email.

The statement said Sajjan paid for tickets to the show for his family with his own money and joined them at the Vancouver event.

Kanga told CBC News that Sajjan endorsed the request — which ended up being denied — because Dosanjh «is the biggest Punjabi artist in the world» and the artist's tour was «a major cultural event and a moment of pride for Canadians of Punjabi descent.»

«As the MP for Vancouver South, and minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Minister Sajjan will continue to support historical achievements with great economic and cultural benefits for Vancouver,» Kanga said.

Request 'would not be feasible'

The Department of National Defence told CBC News in a statement that it considered Sajjan's request but «determined that meeting this request would not be