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4. Government of Canada Will Take Necessary Steps to Protect Air Travellers

Government of Canada Will Take Necessary Steps to Protect Air Travellers

For release - August 1, 2010

OTTAWA — Today, Canada's Transport Minister John Baird, made the following statement:

“Recent media reports have suggested that individuals routinely board aircraft without being visually identified.

Under the Identity Screening Regulations, airlines must be able to verify the identity of all passengers before they are allowed to board. Airlines in Canada are required to have procedures in place to verify the identity of any person whose face is covered. Their approach is to be consistent with international standards and apply equally to all passengers, regardless of a person's culture or religion.

If the reports are true, the situation is deeply disturbing and poses a serious threat to the security of the air travelling public.

Therefore, I have instructed my department to immediately look into this matter and report back. If our current security policies in this area are deemed to be lacking, our government will take the necessary steps to protect the safety and security of the travelling public.

Our government is determined to keep the air travelling public safe and secure. Since 2006, our government has taken steps to protect the safety of air travellers through:

• measures to improve the screening of air cargo and to improve the security and screening of passengers and their luggage at airports, including explosives detection and full-body scanners;
• the new Passenger Protect Program to keep people who may pose an immediate security threat from boarding commercial flights;
• establishing an information-sharing agreement with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to conduct more extensive criminal background checks of workers with access to secure areas at Canada's airports;
• legislation to help starve terrorists of financing; and
• openly condemning groups with links to terrorism, and working with the United Nations and our allies to resist and prevent terrorism.”

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Date modified:

2010-08-03

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