Police are taking all necessary steps to ensure public safety after a report suggested some workers at Montreal’s airport may have been radicalized, Quebec’s public security minister said Wednesday.
Martin Coiteux said Montreal police, the Quebec provincial force, and the RCMP were working together to monitor the situation.
“The first thing I did was to assure myself that police services were following the situation closely, and that was confirmed to me,” Coiteux said in Quebec City.
“Following closely means taking all means to assure the public’s safety.”
READ MORE: Montreal Trudeau airport employees potentially radicalized: report claims
TVA’s investigative series JE reported Tuesday that two airport employees with access to restricted areas were found to have shown signs of radicalization.
They said a police investigation found the workers had watched pro-ISIS propaganda and that one possessed books on military-calibre assault weapons.
The network reported one of the employees has since left the airport, while the other has been reassigned away from secured areas.
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Montreal’s airport authority issued a statement Tuesday saying the airport is secure and that it had not been informed of any specific threat.
Aéroports de Montréal listed a number of measures in place, including security personnel, surveillance systems, specialised response teams, an emergency measures co-ordination centre, and “very effective” emergency plans.
“Montréal–Trudeau airport is unquestionably among the most secure locations there is,” the statement read.
The airport authority also responded to a segment on the TV report that appeared to show an employee with an access card boarding an empty plane without being searched.
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Employees who work in restricted areas must carry a pass and undergo “a total security investigation,” as well as regular monitoring, and random searches, Aeroports de Montreal said.
“As for various risks, including radicalization, ADM works with the different law-enforcement agencies responsible for risk investigation, prevention and analysis,” it wrote.
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau issued a statement Wednesday clarifying these analyses.
“As part of Transport Canada’s ongoing vetting process, all Transportation Security Clearance (TSC) holders with access to airport restricted areas are verified daily in a police database,” Garneau said.
“When criminal activity is identified, we take immediate action and can suspend or revoke the clearance of an individual.” These protocols have resulted in more than 1,100 clearances being refused or cancelled at Canadian airports in the last two years.
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The Conservatives’ public safety critic described the media reports as “deeply troubling” and urged the government to take any necessary measures to ensure security levels are maintained.
“This is a reminder of the need to be ever vigilant against the threat of radical Islamic terrorism,” Tony Clement said in a statement.
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