Hon. Judy A. White: Thank you for joining us today.

My question relates to a publication you released back in September jointly with Ministers Joly and LeBlanc. It outlined the intelligence priorities.

The document recognized, among other things — but this one, in particular — that communities, including Indigenous communities, may have had prior negative experiences with intelligence organizations in Canada. The document then followed up with a commitment to earn the trust of such communities through concrete actions, improvement and accountability.

Could you speak a bit about this? For example, what kinds of concrete actions are being taken in this context, and what is the process for developing these plans and actions to combat that, in particular, with Indigenous communities?

Hon. Bill Blair, P.C., M.P., Minister of National Defence: I spent much of my life in law enforcement, and one of the things I learned in that experience is how important trust is. You need to earn the trust of Indigenous communities, and I think it begins with an acknowledgment of mistakes that have been made in the past and things we need to do better. It also has to be demonstrated by a commitment to actually sit down and honestly and frankly talk about some of the challenges we are facing and the things that we need to do together. I can share with you that those conversations are, in fact, taking place. As I’ve already indicated, I’ve gone to the North and tried to engage, and I think we’ve made some real progress.

People have been kind and generous in allowing us to have those conversations about what needs to be done. Tomorrow, we’re meeting with the Inuit organizations, and the whole day is going to be dedicated to the work we have to do together in the North. It’s going to be absolutely essential that we rebuild trust not just that we’re sincere but that we’re prepared to make the changes that are necessary to have a truly respectful relationship. I think it’s very important.

May I also suggest that we could always use help with it and advice.

Senator White: Thank you, Minister Blair, and I certainly have many thoughts I could provide if you desire to hear them.

I want to hear a little bit more about this engaging and consulting. We’ve heard time and time again in every sphere and every committee that I’ve been in since I’ve been here at the Senate that what you call consultation and what we call consultation doesn’t always mean the same thing. Do you have any thoughts or ideas, or are you actually just going in? It’s one thing to come in and say, “Hey, we want to talk to you about this,” or “Hey, this is what we’re doing,” but it’s a little bit different in terms of consulting to say, “We think this can work. What are your thoughts? What are the impacts?” There’s a difference.

Mr. Blair: Let me say that I agree with you there is a difference. Consultation is not a conversation; it’s a relationship. It requires that you approach it that way and remain committed to that relationship and ongoing dialogue. It’s not simply a one-off.

I remember one of the first consultations I did when I first came to government. I sat down with a group of people for four hours, and, in the end, they told me, “We have not been consulted.” I said, “Then help me understand what consultation is to you.” They explained that to me.

In my previous job as a police chief, I set up consultation committees with religious and ethnic minorities and with different communities throughout my city because it’s a very diverse city. I needed to understand their perspective, and I needed their help. It wasn’t easy. For the first couple years, it was fraught with all sorts of difficulties, but we all just kept coming back to it.