OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Canada’s Transport Minister, John Baird and Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transport) today announced that the Government of Canada is investing in full body scanners to enhance security at Canadian airports.
Starting this month, full body scanners will be installed at major Canadian airports. This technology will give passengers a choice between a full body scan and a physical search. The full body scanner will be used to reveal objects, including weapons and explosives that could be concealed under clothing.
“The safety and security of Canadians is of the utmost importance to our government,” said Merrifield. This latest passenger screening technology and passenger behaviour screening will be added layers of security, which will provide a robust defence to further protect air travellers.”
“Given the recent terrorist incident on December 25, our government is accelerating its actions to protect air travellers,” said Baird. “The new full body scanners are the next generation of technology and balance safety and security with safeguards to privacy. They will allow for additional flexibility and enhancement to the security screening process.”
The full body scanner technology was tested last year at Kelowna Airport over several months to evaluate security effectiveness, collect operational performance data in an airport environment and validate the screening protocol for this type of technology. Health Canada was consulted on the use of the technology and has indicated that it complies with Health Canada requirements. In addition, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has confirmed that privacy concerns have been appropriately addressed.
The Ministers also announced that the Government of Canada will soon issue a request for proposal for passenger behaviour observation for passenger screening at major Canadian airports.
The request will seek a company to develop a passenger behaviour observation program and training. Passenger behaviour observation screening consists of focusing on the passengers exhibiting suspicious behaviour, which could be an involuntary response to a fear of being discovered.
