Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member's remarks. I know that she has been a longstanding member of the justice committee, but I also listened to the evidence of the witness that she was citing, the youth worker from Montreal, and he had some powerful testimony for our committee.
I noticed that the hon. member, although citing some of the things that the witness said, left out the fact that that witness appeared at our justice committee to support a bill that the hon. member opposes.
Here is someone who works with youth, who works in an environment where there are a lot of gangs. We heard his evidence about recruitment into gangs and the kids wearing the red or blue bandanas. He provided such powerful testimony, but he said we should support what the government was doing with our justice bills, our bills to get tough on crime.
I find it most interesting that the hon. member left that out of her remarks when she was talking on this issue. She left out the fact that this person was supporting a government bill that she opposes, so I would ask that she comment on that if she gets an opportunity.
The motion today speaks to the importance of the contribution that ethnocultural communities make to the prevention of crime, social reintegration of offenders, and rapid growth of safer communities. It asks the House to recognize the need to ensure every means and resource to allow police departments, Correctional Service Canada, the National Parole Board, and the ethnocultural communities to respond better to the new needs of the increasingly diversified offender and prisoner population.
In this regard, I wish to recognize the importance of the contribution of ethnocultural communities in a specific context, namely, in helping to ensure the national security of Canada in a manner that respects the fundamental rights of all Canadians.
In this regard, I wish to single out especially the work of the cross-cultural round table on security. The recent report that reviewed the Anti-terrorism Act from the other place discussed the cross-cultural round table on security and made recommendations to improve its effectiveness. The government is currently considering this report.
It is not my intention to discuss the Senate's recommendation at this time. My purpose today is to summarize the work of the round table members to date as an important example of how members of ethnocultural communities can contribute to a Canada that is safer because it takes action against wrongdoers, in this case terrorists, while respecting fundamental human rights.
The cross-cultural round table on security was established in February 2005. Its mandate is to engage Canadians and the Government of Canada in an ongoing dialogue on national security. The round table meets periodically with the Ministers of Public Safety, Justice and Canadian Heritage, as well as other ministers and security officials, to discuss national security matters. I had the privilege last year of attending the national round table and it was a very rewarding experience indeed.
To date, six formal meetings of the round table with senior government officials and, as mentioned above, periodically with ministers, have been held. During the last two years of operation, round table members have helped inform policy and decision-making by providing insights on security issues.
The cross-cultural round table on security has brought together 15 individuals, all volunteers I should add, from diverse ethnocultural and religious communities from across the country. While they may come from different backgrounds and different cultures, it is their commitment to human rights, to strong and safe communities, and to protecting Canada and Canadians from harm that unites them as a round table.
The diversity within its membership and the spectrum of opinions reflect the diversity and concerns of Canada's citizens. The round table is part of a pluralistic process of consultation, collaboration and learning. This is a different model from those created in Europe and Australia, which focus solely on the Muslim community. Instead, the round table is a multicultural model, which rejects the stigmatization of any one community.
Since the round table's inception, initiatives such as the Canada Border Service Agency's fairness initiative and the RCMP's bias-free policing policy have signalled the commitment of federal agencies to ensure that the Canadian values that we respect so much are reflected in the way government officials perform their everyday duties.
The agenda that the round table members adopted for 2005-06 covered many diverse facets of national security concerns and brought many new perspectives to the understanding by all participants of the important security issues and the impact of national security measures on Canadians.
The first year the round table allowed round table members to really appreciate the multicultural nature of the round table as they did not shy away from discussing difficult issues regarding national security that often involved debates around foreign policy and religious issues.
Round table members have also facilitated numerous meetings between government and local community groups to ensure that a two-way dialogue takes place, explaining what security measures have been enacted, why and what is being done to protect all Canadians.
Equally important has been the information exchange, the listening to those who may feel there is a disproportionate impact on them from some of these measures.
Based on feedback from round table members, security agencies are reassessing how they should interact with diverse communities, with a long term view to establishing sustained and effective relationships.
More broadly, federal government departments, including the Department of Justice and Public Safety, are also re-examining how they engage in outreach activities to Canadians on national security issues. Through their own outreach, round table members have recognized the need to build trust and understanding among Canada's diverse communities and the security agencies toward the common goal, the goal that we all share, of enhanced security.
Moving forward into 2006, the round table, through a series of community outreach activities, locally, regionally and nationally, focused on achieving strategic results in four main areas. First, beyond the government's efforts to protect its citizens, Canada's overall security depends on the responsibility and attitude of all Canadians and their desire and ability to work together to protect our communities.
Round table members recognized the need to develop and reinforce the concept of responsible citizens and underlined the responsibilities associated with being part of Canadian society, including the necessary commitment to the security of their own communities.
Round table members wish to advise government on the potential role and responsibilities of all members of Canadian society including, very importantly, youth in the security of Canada. This would also include how the government itself could support its people in this role and relationship.
Second, the London bombings which took place in July 2005 raised the notion, disturbing to all round table members, of second or third generation Canadians, born in an open and democratic society, adopting violent solutions such as suicide bombings as a means of protesting government actions.
There is no reason to believe that Canadians are immune from the conditions that led to these events. This is not an issue unique to the United Kingdom. Round table members recognized the need to better understand these concerns domestically and to dialogue with communities about understanding the conditions that could potentially lead to the adoption of extremist views and the commitment of terrorist acts or hate crimes by Canadians, particularly youth, at home or abroad.
They also recognized the need to discuss potential effective interventions to prevent such tragedies from occurring within our own borders.
Third, round table members will continue to facilitate a two-way communication regarding the implementation of Canadian government security measures and their impact on ethnocultural communities and individual members as best they can and they will continue to carry on promoting intercultural dialogue within the respective communities on local issues and concerns related to national security.
Lastly, in the event of a terrorist act in Canada or an act directed against Canadians, round table members recognized the need to be concerned with the possibility and even likelihood of community backlash and hate crimes against members of Canada's communities.
By talking with communities, strategies to deal with this scenario could be examined and developed. These would aim to strengthen community relations and mobilize communities, cultural businesses and youth groups in an effort to mitigate the fallout of a terrorist attack in Canada.
As I explained previously, the great strength of the round table lies in its multicultural makeup. Being a country with a strong sense of multiculturalism, Canada has developed and will continue to build a solid capacity for dialogue and expression in diverse communities.
In today's complex security environment, intelligence and law enforcement agencies must work with community groups to be effective. Within a multicultural country such as Canada, each round table member brings something unique to the table, and those are the diverse Canadian communities they come from. Concerns about security measures do not come from just one community or one religion. The round table, either through the rotation of new members or through its outreach activities, will seek out as many of these perspectives as possible. It is hoped that any and all impacts of this dialogue will help move Canada forward.
I will give an example. At the outreach meeting held in Calgary on March 18, 2006, the members of the security agencies had the opportunity to present to the audience the nature of the work undertaken by them and the challenge they face in this regard. Thereafter, they participated in a question and answer session. Not surprising, the audience brought up issues such as racial profiling, security certificates and the possible abuse of power by the authorities. According to the report of the round table member who organized this outreach activity, it stated:
It was heartening to see members of the security agencies explain to what extent they strive to prevent such abuses and invite the audience to contact them in case of such occurrences.
In addition, from this past fall to early February of this year, the round table hosted four regional symposiums aimed at seeking public views with respect to the role of Canadian society in national security. These events have provided an opportunity to bring together members of Canada's ethnocultural communities with officials from the Department of Public Safety and security agencies, such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as officials from the Department of Justice.
To summarize, input from the round table to date has led to better interaction between ethnocultural communities and the security agencies, development of improved communication approaches and products by security agencies, and improved cultural awareness and sensitivity training of security agencies' officials.
As well, the Department of Canadian Heritage through the multiculturalism program, has been an active participant in the round table.
The work of the cross-cultural round table on security is a prime example of how members of Canada ethnocultural communities can work together to dialogue with government on the impact of the current government policy and laws in a manner that exemplifies the nature of this great nation and avoid stigmatizing any one segment of Canadians.