Dad creates No Fly List Kids group after trip gone bad
Help from strangers all across Canada was humbling, writes Sulemaan Ahmed.
You might remember my son Adam. He and I were on the front page of the Montreal Gazette sports section wearing the famous red, white and blue jerseys of the Canadiens in January 2016.
No, we weren’t skating for the Habs. Adam, who was six at the time, was falsely flagged on Canada’s no-fly list. Every time he travelled, we couldn’t check in online. We had to go to the airport much earlier and once while travelling internationally, our passports were confiscated.
The situation came to a head in December 2015 when Adam and I were on our way to the NHL Winter Classic game in Massachusetts featuring the Bruins and the Habs. He was flagged — again — and as a long delay was underway, I discreetly took a photo of the check-in agent’s screen showing Adam’s status.
I tweeted about the situation, the Gazette article appeared, and all hell broke loose. Hundreds of families from across Canada contacted us, as did adults who also found themselves on the no-fly list.
That’s because when Canada’s no-fly list was launched a decade ago, unique identifiers such as date of birth, passport number or SIN number were not used to verify someone’s identity. So if your name is Adam Ahmed, Alia Mohamed, Bill Graham (yes, the former cabinet minister), David Matthews, David Smith (the Liberal senator), Muhammad Ali, Sebastian-David Khan — among many other names — you are flagged for no other reason than a false match of your given name.
Some might say the inconvenience of being delayed at check-in is a small price to pay for national security. However, I have yet to hear a convincing argument of how we are kept safe by wasting additional security resources and money falsely flagging infants, toddlers, preschoolers, veterans, airline pilots, armed forces personnel, business leaders and other innocent Canadians.
And what happens when our kids travel overseas as adults? What happens if a “false positive” is flagged in a foreign country that does not share our value for human rights? Do we change our child’s name? If so, to what ( because the government won’t disclose what names are on the list)?
So after all that, with zero funding and no hired lobbying firm, we launched the group No Fly List Kids and used social media to drive our advocacy efforts. Our “Stanley Cup” was the creation of a Canadian redress system to eliminate false positives, similar to what the United States has used for more than a decade.
We remained apolitical and threw our own time and money into the effort. We wanted a solution for all Canadians because this crisis affected everyone imaginable.
When the 2017 budget was tabled, we thought we secured the funding to fix the no-fly list, but the money was not there. We were bitterly disappointed. It was akin to losing Game 7 in overtime.
So we approached all MPs to ask for a written letter of support to fund a redress system. Our goal of 25 letters was surpassed quickly. We secured cross-party support of more than 220 MPs (two-thirds of Parliament). The Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Bloc Québécois and Green parties unanimously supported us.
Many across party lines advised, advocated and asked questions in the House of Commons. Many newspaper editorials were supportive, and we learned this wasn’t limited to Canadian-born children. Two students at Western University researched the subject and estimated the issue might affect up to 100,000 Canadians.
One iconic moment was during our “Hill Day” in Ottawa on Nov. 6, 2017. Bobby Rousseau, who won four Stanley Cups with the Habs, came to Ottawa with his family. We’ll never forget this 78-year-old gentleman walking the corridors of Parliament to meet MPs, advocate for us and present the government with a petition signed by prominent Canadians.
Ardent Habs fans such as Ian Cobb wrote stern letters to the government. Public figures like George Stroumboulopoulos and Erica Ehm supported us and Annakin Slayd allowed us to use his song rights for an incredible video created by Infinity Comm.
Rival Bruins and Leafs fans teased us that Habs fans deserved to be on no-fly lists yet still wrote op-eds in support of us. Nevin Markwart, who played for a decade for the Bruins, allowed us to use his photo and name. W. Brett Wilson, co-owner of the Predators, was a fierce advocate from the start. Oilers, Jets and Senators fans helped us prepare to testify to the Federal Finance Committee, Federal Caucus and National Security Committee. It was humbling as strangers across Canada wanted to help the No Fly List Kids team.
When the 2018 federal budget dropped in February, we learned we had secured $81.4 million in funding for a Canadian redress system.
We haven’t won the Stanley Cup just yet. Public Safety officials say Bill C-59, the bill that would ensure a reorganization of the no-fly list, must pass this year in the Senate before the project can be started.
Our families recently met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and he was receptive to our feedback. Officials told us this is a priority, so we remain cautiously optimistic.
But the clock is counting down. As the October 2019 federal election approaches, governmental activities will grind to a halt despite there potentially being tens of thousands remaining on Canada’s no-fly list.
As my spouse once said, our calm and patience should not be mistaken for lack of drive. We’re determined to see this through. The families and advisers have been inspiring in how they worked together as a team. They provided an example to our children that if you stand up for what is right in a persistent and dignified manner, anything is possible.
And to think it all started with a little boy going with his father to see a hockey game. Go Habs go, indeed.