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Canada's Controversial No-Fly List Takes Off Monday, June 18 |
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Written by Staff
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Sunday, 17 June 2007 |
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On Monday June 18, 2007 Canada will launch the Passenger Protect Program, a made-in-America airline No-Fly list, a roster of Canadians who have been banned from flying after being declared a security risk. The program will be applied to flights within Canada and international flights to and from Canada.
In an announcement last month Canadian Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon cautioned that Canada must "remain vigilant" against the threat of terrorism adding, "Passenger Protect....will help keep the world's skies safe by reaching beyond Canadian borders to screen everyone getting on a flight to Canada."
The Canadian government will maintain a list which includes the name, date of birth and gender of specific individuals who they believe may pose an immediate threat to aviation security if they are permitted to fly. Airlines have been provided with this list and will be able to screen passengers through a secure online database. If a match is discovered, the airline must immediately contact Transport Canada to confirm that individual's identity. Transport Canada will then determine whether that person should be allowed in the flight.
Critics of the program are questioning the government's decision to screen children. The regulations stipulate that minors who appear to be the age of 12 or older must present one piece of official documentation in the form of a government-issued photo ID that shows name, date of birth and gender or two pieces of two pieces of government-issued ID - one of which shows name, date of birth and gender. These IDs must be presented to be allowed to board an aircraft.
Liberal Transport Critic Joe Volpe last week gave the government a failing grade for not protecting Canadians, for being secretive, and for a lack of accountability. Volpe expressed concerns over the secrecy surrounding the process of adding an individual's name to the No-Fly list saying, "The Minister of Transport is solely responsible for putting people's names on the No-Fly list and he has been silent on the process of how a Canadian's name is put on. People's names are put on the list after he consults with only who knows whom. This is a dangerous and unchecked power for one person."
The Canadian list will rely heavily on data from domestic and foreign intelligence sources, including the U.S. No Fly List. It has been reported that as of early 2006, the U.S. No-Fly List alone contains at least 44,000 names. It is unknown how many names are included on Canada's list.
Also in dispute is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's admission that they do not add many known terrorists to their official No-Fly lists because to do so might "tip off" those terrorists who would then know they were being watched.
Canada is also using information supplied by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP. Transport Canada provides guidelines in determining who may be placed on this country's No-Fly List:
- an individual who is or has been involved in a terrorist group, and who, it can reasonably be suspected, will endanger the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members;
- an individual who has been convicted of one or more serious and life-threatening crimes against aviation security; and
- an individual who has been convicted of one or more serious and life-threatening offences and who may attack or harm an air carrier, passengers or crew members.
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