Home Newsroom 2005 News releases (archive) 2005-02-08: Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security

Appointment of 15 members to the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security

Ottawa, February 8, 2005 -- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler and Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Raymond Chan today announced the appointments of 15 members to the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security.

“Over the course of the nomination period, we received a large number of applications from highly qualified Canadians from across the country, and choosing only 15 members proved to be a difficult task,” said Minister McLellan. “However, we are pleased that such a fine roster of individuals from such diverse backgrounds have agreed to serve in this extremely important function.”

“Their collective experience, broad range of perspectives, and willingness to contribute to the development of security policy will be tremendous assets to the Roundtable,” said Minister Cotler.

“This Roundtable is a good example of a partnership between Canadians and their government,” said Minister of State Chan. “Men and women from many different ethnic, racial, cultural and religious backgrounds will sit at this table. They will be able to guide us, on an on-going basis, in managing the security interests of all Canadians, as well as promoting mutual respect and common understanding in our diverse society.”

Dr. Zaheer Lakhani will serve as Chair of the Roundtable, and Dr. Myrna Lashley will serve as Vice-Chair. Other members are:

• Mr. Leo Adler;
• Mr. Riazuddin Ahmed;
• Dr. David Bensoussan;
• Ms. Carolyn Fowler;
• Mr. Ashraf Ghanem;
• Dr. Kuldip Gill;
• Mr. David Gisser;
• Mr. Mohinder Grewal;
• Mr. Hussein Hamdani;
• Dr. Edna Keeble;
• Dr. Vettivelu Nallainayagam;
• Ms. Salma Siddiqui; and
• Mr. Solomon Wong.

The Roundtable will provide a forum to discuss emerging trends and developments emanating from national security matters. It will facilitate a broad exchange of information between the Government and diverse communities on the impact of national security issues, consistent with Canadian rights and responsibilities. The Roundtable will also serve to better inform policy makers by providing insights on how national security measures may impact Canada ’s diverse communities and promoting the protection of civil order, mutual respect and common understanding.

The Roundtable will work with the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Justice, who will consider its input in the ongoing development of matters relating to national security.

The Government’s National Security Policy, which was released on April 27, 2004, committed to the creation of both a Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security and an Advisory Council on National Security. The Government will be making an announcement regarding the membership of the Advisory Council in the near future.

The first meeting of the Roundtable will take place in early March in Ottawa. Interested parties are encouraged to check the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada website for regular updates on the work of the Roundtable.

See also:

• Profiles of all Roundtable appointees

For more information:

Alex Swann
Office of the Honourable Anne McLellan
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
(613) 991-2863

Denise Rudnicki
Office of the Honourable Irwin Cotler
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
(613) 943-8506

To arrange for an interview with Dr. Lakhani, please contact:

Media Relations
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
(613) 991-0657