Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security Meeting Summary - Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Bombing of Air India Flight 182

November 12-14, 2010, Montreal, Québec

Participants: The Associate Deputy Minister of Public Safety Canada, the Associate Deputy Minister of Justice Canada, senior government officials from the Departments of Public Safety, Justice, Transport, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, as well as the RCMP and CSIS, participated in the dialogue with the members.

Issues of Discussion: The 16th meeting of the Roundtable provided for an in-depth look at the issues raised by the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182. Discussions were held on the changes made since the tragedy to address issues of security in air transportation and to examine the proposed responses by the government to the report, such as the conduct of large and complex trials, the relationship between intelligence and evidence and the federal witness protection program. Consultations were held on the potential creation of an academic institute for the study of terrorism. Members were also provided with an overview of the current threat assessment for Canada, and were consulted on the RCMP's Community Policing Problem Solving Model established to provide a response to identified national security-related community issues.

Outcomes: While the formal response from the government to Justice Major's report had yet to be released at the time of the meeting, members underlined that the government's response should address such issues as the apparent erasing of key evidence by CSIS and the circumstances that led to the death of a key witness for the report to be credible with affected communities. Members also indicated that ongoing national security threats occurring in Canada must be addressed to ensure that such a tragedy does not occur again. Of particular concern were the disappearances of young Somali-Canadian men in Toronto, the missing Aboriginal women, and individuals who are being victimized through intimidation tactics in communities. Roundtable members underlined the importance of interdepartmental and inter-agency cooperation as key to keeping Canada safe and secure. Roundtable members supported the creation of an academic institute for the study of terrorism, highlighting that research should be relevant and focus on current and evolving issues. Roundtable members also noted the importance of outreach work with communities to build trust, understand community issues and develop solutions that answer both government and the community concerns. Members noted that building long-term partnerships with communities is key to resiliency, particularly in the event of a terrorist attacks.

Date modified:

2018-02-06