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
• November 18-20, 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia
• April 27-29, 2007, Ottawa, Ontario
• November 2-4, 2007, Ottawa, Ontario
• March 14-16, 2008, Vancouver, British Columbia

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.
6. November 18 – 20, 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia:
   • Theme: Marine Security
   • Participants: Senior officials from the Department of Public Safety and its security agencies (RCMP, CSIS, CBSA), Transport Canada, Department of National Defence, Justice Canada and Canadian Heritage participated in the dialogue with Roundtable members. Mr. Paul Kennedy, Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, also participated in an informal discussion with members.
   • Issues of Discussion: The sixth meeting of the Roundtable focused on the programs and measures in place to protect Canadians from threats to marine security. These included measures in place to meet Canada's security obligations regarding Canadian waterways, coastline and ports. Following the release of the first part of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar, the Roundtable members also held discussions regarding the report, as well as the issue of accountability and review mechanisms for the activities of agencies with national security responsibilities.
   • Outcomes: Members supported the commitment by the RCMP to fully implement the 23 recommendations of Justice O'Connor's report, and offered to work with all federal security agencies, as well as security review agencies in implementing Justice O'Connor's recommendations and to engage and inform communities about the work of these organizations. Members also provided feedback to the Government on issues such as the illegal cross-border traffic of firearms, dedicated police services at Canadian ports, and the impact of the MTSCP and MSCP programs on Canadians.
7. April 27 – 29, 2007, Ottawa, Ontario:
   • Theme: ATA Review
   • Participants: The Minister of Public Safety Canada, senior officials from the Department of Public Safety Canada and its security agencies (RCMP, CSIS, CBSA), Foreign Affairs, Transport Canada and Canadian Heritage participated in the dialogue with Roundtable members.
   • Issues of Discussion: The seventh meeting of the Roundtable focused on the Anti-Terrorism Act, and specifically the House of Commons and Senate proposals to reform it.
   • Outcomes: Although consensus was not reached on every issue, the Roundtable provided advice and recommendations, to be considered in the potential government response to the House of Commons and the Senate, on the following issues: racial profiling and ethno-cultural community issues; the definition of terrorist activity; security certificates; review and oversight; special advocates; and the passenger protect program.
8. November 2-4, 2007, Ottawa, Ontario:
   • Theme: Hate Crime and Radicalization through the Internet
   • Participants: The Minister of Justice and senior officials from the Department of Public Safety and two of its security agencies (RCMP and CSIS), Justice Canada, Statistics Canada and Canadian Heritage participated in the dialogue with Roundtable members.
   • Issues of Discussion: The eighth meeting of the Roundtable focused on the Government of Canada's policies, programs and measures to address hate crime as well as the proliferation of radicalized views through the use of the Internet. Roundtable members were presented with an overview of a community-based approach to counterterrorism. Updates were provided on the implementation of the recommendations from the O'Connor Report following the Maher Arar inquiry, the government's recently-tabled legislation on security certificates, and amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act.
   • Outcomes: The Roundtable provided advice and recommendations on the Action Plan Against Racism and its role in combating hate crime and supported the Communities at Risk program as an important tool in addressing hate crime in Canada.  Members also considered the issue of youth radicalization via the Internet and gave feedback on how best to engage Canadians on national security issues.
9. March 14-16, 2008, Vancouver, British Columbia:
   • Theme: Radicalization - International and Canadian Perspectives
   • Participants:The Minister of Public Safety and senior officials from the Department of Public Safety and two of its security agencies (RCMP and CSIS), Justice Canada and Canadian Heritage participated in the dialogue with Roundtable members.
   • Issues of Discussion: The ninth meeting of the Roundtable focused on various aspects of radicalization around the world, with presentations provided on radical movements in other countries, and on research efforts to better understand the Canadian context. Members were briefed on program and policy changes related to multiculturalism that better support ethno-cultural minority participation and inclusion.  Updates were provided on amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act, the newly-enacted legislation on security certificates, and the current status of the proposed U.S. Secure Flight initiative.
   • Outcomes: Members supported using evidence-based research initiatives on the causes of radicalization as an important tool for the Roundtable's work. The Roundtable also agreed on the importance for the Government to communicate strong, clear and concise messages about national security issues, and reiterated the necessity of providing Canadians with a realistic picture of Canada's national security threats.