Summary Report: Public Consultation with Ethnocultural and Religious Communities on the Impact of the Anti-terrorism Act
November 29, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario
This document is a summary of the views expressed by the participants and does not reflect the views of the Department of Justice or the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.
Conclusion
Mark Berlin thanked the participants for their time, effort, and contributions. He outlined next steps, including the provision of a summary report of the proceedings, follow-up discussions with the Minister of Justice, reports from Ministers to their Cabinet colleagues, and discussions of provincial jurisdictional issues.
A number of undertakings were made, including:
- to provide a summary report of the proceedings to the participants;
- to inform the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada of the content of the discussions during the consultation;
- that Ministers have indicated that they would consider reporting to their Cabinet colleagues on the consultation;
- although no further consultations were planned at the time, that the Department of Justice would consider the possibility of further consultations, either formal or informal;
- to accept further written submissions regarding the impact of the Anti-terrorism Act on ethnocultural and religious communities;
- that the Minister of Justice would advise his provincial and territorial counterparts on the outcome of the consultation;
- that senior officials would discuss the results of the consultation at the next meeting of the Federal Provincial and Territorial Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials;
- to establish a website on the Parliamentary Review of the Anti-terrorism Act; and
- that officials from Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada would meet with senior officials from the RCMP, CSIS and the Canada Border Services Agency to inform them of concerns that relate to policing and law enforcement.
On behalf of the Departments of Justice and Public Safety, Berlin expressed appreciation for the time and effort that individuals made to participate.
Annex 1: List of Participating Organizations
- African Canadian Legal Clinic
- B'nai Brith
- Canadian Arab Federation
- Canadian Council for Refugees
- The Canadian Council of Churches
- Canadian Council of Muslim Women
- Canadian Ethnocultural Council
- Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiative
- Canadian Jewish Congress
- Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association
- Canadian Race Relations Foundation
- Coalition of Muslim Organizations
- Council on American/Islamic Relations Canada
- Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
- India Canada Association
- Muslim Canadian Congress
- Muslim Students Association of the United States and Canada
- National Anti-Racism Council of Canada
- National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada
- Somali Centre for Family Services
- Sri Lanka United National Association
- World Sikh Organization
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