Tighter security in works for air cargo, passenger

February 15, 2007
15 February 2007
 
Tighter security in works for air cargo, passengers
 
This article is extracted from the 13 February 2007 edition of the “Toronto Star”.
 
Transport Canada is moving "aggressively" on a report from the global aviation authority that calls for beefed-up air security through improved cargo screening and better training programs, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday.
 
"Already, some (recommendations) are in motion and Transport Canada has indicated they want to move ahead on all of those," Day said at Pearson International Airport, where he helped roll out the next phase of the cross-border NEXUS program.
 
Day's comments follow a published report that revealed portions of a confidential audit handed to Transport Canada by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency based in Montreal.
 
A heavily edited copy of the September 2005 report, obtained by Canadian Press, notes that although certain measures are in place for cargo security, Canada should further develop security controls.
 
The audit team reviewed a range of security-related issues concerning airports, including passengers, baggage, in-flight measures, cargo and catering services.
 
As part of the exercise, the reviewers studied operations at Pearson, the country's busiest airport.
 
Portions of the report were withheld under the Access to Information Act but the sections made available show auditors found some training programs, including those for aircraft operators and cargo-handling companies, were "not comprehensive and/or fully developed."
 
The audit also found there were no written requirements to have secure storage areas for mishandled baggage at airports.
 
Transport Canada has called the report "a valuable tool."
 
            The report echoes the recent concerns of an advisory panel struck by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, a federal agency created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the United States, to make air travel safer….

Topic(s): 
Canadian Economy & Politics
Information Source: 
Canadian News Channel
Document Type: 
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