Why someone on Canada’s no-fly list can board a plane

WATCH: Global News has uncovered evidence “no” doesn’t always mean “no” when it comes to Canada’s no-fly list. Jacques Bourbeau explains. (May 13)

To me, it was a surprising discovery.

Last week, Global News reported it was possible for people on Canada’s no-fly list to board an airplane.

Sources tell us this has, in fact, happened and the government says it’s perfectly normal.

READ MORE: Canada’s no-fly list? More of a maybe

If you’re wondering how and why it happens, here’s a quick primer.

The Minister of Public Safety decides who gets put on the no-fly list (just so there’s no confusion, it’s bureaucratic name is the Passenger Protect Program).

He makes that decision based on the recommendation of the Specified Persons Advisory Group.

That group is made up of officials from CSIS, the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Departments of Justice and Transport.

And at least every 30 days, the Public Safety Minister reviews all the names on the list.

So it certainly appears that a lot of care is taken to make sure that those people who are on the list, deserve to be on the list.

But regardless of how airtight the list is, it’s full of holes when one of the suspected terrorists actually lines up to get on a flight.

When that happens, a phone call is made to Transport Canada, where an official makes a last-minute decision whether to let that person board the flight.

That means there is a possibility that someone who has been deemed a potential threat to aviation security gets to fly the happy skies with the rest of us.

This raises a lot of troubling questions.

If we are going to compile a no-fly list, then disregard it, what’s the point of the list?

Does it make sense to ask a Transport Canada official, at the last minute, to make a critical security decision? Should we rename the no-fly list, the maybe you can fly list?

And, what about the Americans? Do they have a similar policy?

We checked and this is what they told us: “The no fly list means a person cannot fly on nor board an aircraft that will transit U.S. airspace.”

In other words, no means no when it comes to potential terrorists trying to fly over the U.S.

After our story went to air, I received a phone call from a Transport Canada bureaucrat (the first time an official spoke to me about this program…..but that’s a subject for another time).

He wanted to explain the rationale behind the system and why some people on the no-fly list get to fly.

The key point he made is that when someone is placed on the no-fly list, the threshold is that “there are reasonable grounds to suspect the individual poses a threat to aviation security”.

But, when they show up at an airport with their luggage, ready to board a flight, all of a sudden that threshold is moved up a few notches.

The rules say they will be grounded only if they pose “an immediate threat to aviation security”. What does that mean?

About the only way someone presents an “immediate” threat is if he’s standing in the boarding line holding a bomb with a lit fuse. Think Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

And remember, the person deciding that works for Transport Canada, not the RCMP or CSIS (although I’m told he or she does consult with them over the phone), and he/she is in an office nowhere near the boarding gate.

The bureaucrat couldn’t explain the logic behind this, but I think there’s a strong argument that we have this backwards.

Rather than raise the threshold at the last minute, and only ground those people on the no-fly list who are an immediate threat, perhaps we should think about turning the system on its head.

Put the onus on those on the list to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they pose no threat. Only then do they get their boarding pass.

Think about it.

Under the current system, when you take your seat on a plane, there is a chance you could be sitting beside someone who has been deemed a potential (not immediate) threat to aviation security.

Under a lower threshold system, there would be no chance anyone on the no-fly list would be occupying a seat.

I know which plane I’d like to board.