Feds urge patience as families press for action on no-fly snags

OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says the federal government is working to resolve ongoing airport hassles children face due to security snags — and passing a federal bill now before Parliament is the first step.

Families from the group known as the No Fly List Kids came to Ottawa to make their case to MPs and ministers on Monday with the aim of ensuring that funding for a new computer system to fix the problem is included in the 2018 federal budget.

Parents of children who have repeatedly endured nerveracking airport delays because a youngster’s name matches one on a no-fly list say the federal legislation will do nothing in the short term to ease their woes.

The government is proposing an amendment to the Secure Air Travel Act that would allow the public safety minister to tell parents that their child is not on the Canadian no-fly list, meaning the name simply matches that of someone who is actually listed. The government says this would provide assurance to parents about their child’s status.

The legislation, part of a broad package of security-related measures, would also allow federal officials to electronically screen air passenger information against the list, a process now in the hands of airlines. The government says this would prevent false name matches by enabling it to issue unique redress numbers for pre-flight verification of identity. But it also means creating a new computer system to do the job.

Goodale said Monday the overall solution entails passing the legislation, enacting regulations and building the computer system from the ground up.

Families were disappointed funds for the new system did not turn up in the last federal budget and they’re beginning to lose patience.

“This is a technical problem that requires a technical solution,” said Sulemaan Ahmed, whose eight-year-old son, Adam, has been held up many times before boarding a flight.