Canada must cut its ridiculous airport screening

If you’ve flown anywhere in Canada recently, you will have noticed that wait times are getting worse.

Since 2013, the length of screening times has deteriorated so badly that the Canadian Airport Council referred to security screening services as a being in a state of “crisis.”

Not only are we waiting more, we are paying more and getting less service. According to the World Economic Forum, Canadians pay some of the highest air travel prices in the world. One part is a fee for the so-called Air Traveller’s Security Charge.

The security charge was introduced after 9/11 by the Chretien government to fund air transport security and the newly minted Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Instead of improving security, it has turned into a major cash grab by the Finance Department. Since 2011, the security authority’s budget has declined, even though revenue has steadily increased. From 2010 to 2013, $260 million was siphoned away from airport screening into the consolidated revenue fund.

While it’s annoying to wait in long lines, more important is the security risk these lines pose. A new wave of terrorist attacks on airports in Moscow, Brussels and Istanbul have all occurred between the sidewalk and the security inspection line. Instead of viewing screening lines as an annoyance, officials should see these lengthening queues as a soft spot for terrorists.

Another problem with airport security highlighted in David Emerson’s 2015 review of the Transportation Act, is the strange restrictions faced by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Essentially, it has no control over security screening policy. This has led directly to poor service and long wait times. Emerson recommends adopting the U.S. model, wherein a single “agency has responsibility for both regulatory oversight and operations.”

The minister of transport should get on with it. Give the authority the policy clout to make airport screening faster, smarter and safer. Then he should reduce the security charge to match its new budget.

But perhaps the greatest failing of the Canadian model is with our trusted traveller program: NEXUS. That’s the background check where travellers volunteer their information to border officials to become pre-screened. They are then deemed trusted travellers and expedited through customs.

NEXUS cardholders are also offered a special line at security screening. The problem is, it’s not that special. NEXUS users are still forced to submit to the same cumbersome screening procedures as other passengers. The question is: If our border officials allow these pre-screened travellers to enter the country quickly and safely, why doesn’t the same practice apply at airport security?

Replacing this one-size-fits-all approach to passenger screening with a risk-based, intelligence-driven approach was a key recommendation in the Emerson review. The U.S. long ago adopted this model. As a result, trusted travellers are able to pass through security lickety-split. In fact, the processing rates at U.S. airports are twice as fast as in Canada.

We could have a security screening system that works not just for a select few, but for everybody. Trusted travellers wouldn’t have to take off their belt or shoes or separate their laptops. This would be particularly beneficial to elderly and disabled passengers who are currently forced to submit to unnecessary and embarrassing screening procedures.

The government should also be doing a better job of promoting NEXUS. Lower the $50 application fee and advertise the program heavily at airports. More pre-cleared travellers means the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority can devote more resources to the general screening line. The result will be faster processing times for all travellers — a win-win.

Why is Transport Minister Marc Garneau dithering on this file? He’s been on the job for over a year, but has yet to deliver any meaningful results. It’s up to him to make lines safer and faster. He should reinvest the security charge moneys back into the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, establish it as an independent agency, and allow it a role in shaping sensible security policy.

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny is former chairman of the Senate committee on national security and defence.