Rules cloudy for who lands on no-fly list, report says

OTTAWA – Canada’s spy agency is using an ad hoc process to nominate individuals for inclusion on the country’s controversial no-fly list, says the watchdog committee charged with monitoring the Canadian Intelligence Security Service.

In fact, the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) found all federal departments responsible for managing the no-fly list have been struggling with the criteria for whom to include.

This revelation, in an annual report compiled by SIRC and tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday, appears to contradict past Conservative government assurances that adequate procedures and guidelines were in place.

The “Specified Persons List” was created amid controversy in June 2007 as part of a broader effort to improve aviation security.

People on the watch list could be prevented from boarding aircraft because they are considered a threat.

Those who opposed the list worried it went too far in putting national security ahead of individual liberties and privacy, with little actual benefit to tightening up safety for airline passengers. But the Conservative government said it had put in place adequate measures to prevent abuse and ensure only individuals who represented a real threat were included.

The SIRC report found uncertainty not only at CSIS, the spy agency, but also within the RCMP and other federal departments and agencies charged with naming individuals to go on the list. The review committee, which is chaired by former Conservative minister Chuck Strahl, “expressed concern at this lack of consistency and at the absence of clearly defined criteria for nomination.”

As a result, CSIS has expanded the types of individuals whose names are put forward for inclusion on the list. The report indicated that in the past, “there was a general emphasis on establishing a direct link to aviation security.” It does not provide specific examples of how the changes have played out, but previous news reports have indicated individuals who know a suspected terrorist could end up on the list.

While satisfied CSIS “has employed a generally cautious approach,” the report noted the lack of clear criteria “as well as a lack of internal guidance, has resulted in a somewhat ad hoc approach by CSIS in nominating individuals to the (no-fly list).”