WATCH: Global News has learned that a change from the new anti-terror laws will be the closing of a loophole that allowed people to skirt the no-fly list. Jacques Bourbeau has the exclusive details.
OTTAWA – Canada’s no-fly list is expected to get a major overhaul on Friday, after Global News revealed last spring some people on the list are being allowed to board a plane.
Sources tell Global News changes are coming as part of the government’s new anti-terrorism law, to be unveiled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Richmond Hill, Ont.
The government’s legislation is also set to include a provision that would allow the police to detain a suspected terrorist for a longer period for time without charges.
Watch: Suspected terrorists may be detained without charges for longer
As it currently stands, the decision to put someone on the list is made by a special advisory group made up of officials from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), the RCMP and various government departments.
If you’re on the list, and you show up at an airport, the airline contacts Transport Canada and a government official makes a last-minute decision whether to keep you off the plane or not.
If the officials decides you don’t pose an immediate threat to the plane, you may be allowed to board.
The no-fly changes are expected to lower the threshold for those on the list, so that anyone who poses a general threat to aviation security will not be allowed on a plane.
READ MORE: What to watch for in feds’ new counter-terror law
At the time of Global’s report in May, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said she had no knowledge of the practice.
“I appreciate your bringing it to my attention, because it’s clearly not what we anticipate or expect in the government of Canada,” Raitt told Global News.
Watch: Canada’s “No-Fly” list contradictions
The new legislation is also expected to give airport security officials the option of sending people under suspicion for additional security screening.
It is also expected the transport minister will be given new powers to share information with foreign states to enhance security and prevent terrorists from travelling.
Sources say there will be enhanced mechanisms to allow people to appeal if they feel they have been wrongly put on the no-fly list.
Comments