Home Programs National security Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security Meetings of the Roundtable

Meetings of the Roundtable

Roundtable meetings - Dates and locations

• March 7-8, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario
• May 23-25, 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia
• November 19-21, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario
• February 24-25, 2006, Montreal, Quebec
• June 3-5, 2006, Gatineau, Quebec

Upcoming meetings

• November 18-20 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia
• March 24-26, 2007,Ottawa, Ontario

Roundtable meeting summaries

1. March 7-8, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario:
   • Theme: Inaugural Meeting – Laying the foundation
   • Participants: The Minister of Public Safety, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Minister of State for Multiculturalism, the Deputy Ministers of Public Safety, Justice, and Canadian Heritage, the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, Agency Heads for CSIS and the RCMP, the Executive Vice-President of CBSA, and many senior government officials from Departments and Agencies participated in the dialogue with the members.
   • Issues of discussion: Members raised concerns regarding security certificates, racial profiling, quality of training of police and intelligence officers, economic impact of security measures on newcomers to Canada, and the manner of conducting interviews by officials of the security agencies.  These issues would be the subject of more in-depth discussions with senior government officials and Ministers in other meetings.
   • Outcomes: Participants came away with an enhanced understanding of the National Security Policy, the security threat environment for Canada, the expectations, role and responsibilities of the Roundtable, and the priorities for future meetings.

2. May 23-25, 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia:
   • Theme: Border security: Protecting Canadians at home and abroad.
   • Participants: The Minister of State for Multiculturalism and many senior government officials from the Department of Public Safety and its security agencies (CSIS, RCMP, and CBSA), Canadian Heritage, Justice Canada, and the Privy Council Office participated in the dialogue with the members.
   • Issues of Discussion: Members raised concerns related to border security that included: information sharing, bilateral border security agreements, the need for the review of terminology when describing security threats, and diversity/sensitivity training of frontline officers. Members also examined their own role in interacting with various communities, and the facilitation of on-going dialogue.
   • Outcomes: Members toured operational security areas of the Vancouver International Airport.  Both members and government officials came away from the meeting with a greater understanding of border security issues and possible implications of border security measures on diverse communities.

3. November 19-21, 2005, Ottawa, Ontario:
   • Theme: International Security and Implications: Protecting Canada and Canadians, and Promoting Dialogue.
   • Participants: The Minister of Public Safety, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Minister of State for Multiculturalism, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, and senior government officials from the Public Safety Portfolio (CSIS, RCMP, and CBSA), Justice, Canadian Heritage, Foreign Affairs, National Defence, Transport Canada, and the Privy Council Office participated in the dialogue with the members.
   • Issues of discussion: The meeting focused on understanding and discussing Canada’s security programs in the context of global events, Canada’s international commitments, and the development of effective strategies to address community relations in the event of a terrorist act in Canada.
   • Outcomes: Members brought issues to the attention of government officials, including the increasing vulnerability of youth with respect to recruitment for terrorism and the need to identify conditions that could lead to extremism. They also addressed positive integration of immigrant communities and promoting the role of citizens in national security, improving the government’s communications strategy to enhance public awareness of national security issues, and the importance of strengthening community relations in the event of a terrorist attack.

4. February 24-25, 2006, Montreal, Quebec:
   • Theme: Identification of Roundtable Priorities for 2006 - 2007
   • Participants: The Minister of Public Safety and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, along with officials from Public Safety, Justice and Canadian Heritage participated in the dialogue with the members.
   • Issues of discussion: Members agreed on the proposed Roundtable Priorities and Work Plan for 2006 - 2007. Also discussed were the next steps in building community relations in the event of a terrorist attack, an update on outreach initiatives, and a review of the first year’s achievements.
   • Outcomes: A 2006 - 2007 Work Plan for the Roundtable was approved for the purpose of setting the focus of the next year’s agenda.

5. June 3-5, 2006, Gatineau, Quebec:
   • Theme: Working Meeting
   • Participants: The Minister of Public Safety, along with senior government officials from Justice, Canadian Heritage, RCMP and Public Safety participated in the dialogue with the members.
   • Issues of Discussion: Members discussed the implementation of the   2006 - 2007 Work Plan. Members also gained a better understanding of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments’ emergency management infrastructure. Discussions followed which identified means by which communities, Roundtable members, and government officials could collaborate at the local level, to ensure proper community relations are in place to prevent hate crimes and backlash that could potentially result from a terrorist event. Planning for proposed fall regional symposia was also discussed in more detail.
   • Outcomes: Roundtable members met to start planning and implementing their 2006 – 2007 Work Plan. Members have agreed to undertake a series of regional symposia to discuss the citizen’s role in national security, and will continue fostering an on-going dialogue on issues of national security through the facilitation of local outreach events.