Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security Meeting Summary - Radicalization Leading to Violence

November 20-22, 2009, Ottawa, Ontario

Participants: The Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada and Justice Canada, senior government officials from Public Safety and its portfolio (CSIS, RCMP, and CBSA), Justice, Citizenship and Immigration, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Public Health Agency Canada, and a representative from Demos participated in the dialogue with the members. A representative from the Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security participated as an observer.

Issues of Discussion: The thirteenth meeting of the Roundtable focused on the theme Radicalization. Presentation were made on the impact of economics on the integration of immigrants, a brief factual review of the cases of Canadians convicted on terrorism-related charges, and an update on the federal government's response to H1N1. Members were also consulted on numerous topics such as: Citizenship and Immigration Canada's approach to addressing social exclusion, marginalization and radicalization through the Multiculturalism Program; RCMP's counter-radicalization project; and, research priorities on radicalization and violent extremism. A presentation of the preliminary results of a study by DEMOS on the relationship between violent and non-violent radicalization was given.

Outcomes: Members provided advice on ways to communicate clearly, regularly and proactively with Canadians on national security issues, and to work with communities to support and collaborate with moderate voices within communities. With regard to clear messaging in relation to emergencies, members invited governments at all levels to better coordinate their response and to pay special attention to ethnic media to ensure that all Canadians understand the information provided. Members also focused their discussions on the issue of radicalization, especially amongst youth, and the growing concern around the use of Internet in relation to the promotion of radicalization leading to violence.

Date modified:

2018-02-06