Homeland Security warns of terror threats

U.S. Homeland Secretary John Kelly said Friday the most significant security threat facing North America is a terrorist attack on aviation and that there have been countless threats to blow up Canadian and U.S. airlines’ planes.

Speaking to CTV’s Power Play on Friday, Kelly said there are “dozens and dozens and dozens of ongoing plots to get to the United States or blow up airplanes” by terrorists.

“That seems to be their Stanley Cup playoffs,” he said. “They want to knock down airplanes. They are trying to do it every day . . . . I can’t count the number of airplanes that have not been blown up in flight, whether they’re United (Airlines) or Air Canada.”

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick denied the airline has been the target of such plots.

“There is no truth whatsoever in the suggestion that Air Canada may have been involved in such threats,” he said in a written statement.

Adepartment of Homeland Security official later contacted the Star to clarify Kelly’s remarks and to say there was no direct connection to Air Canada.

“The Secretary was talking generally about the well-known threat to civil aviation from terrorist plots,” he said. “He was not referring to a specific threat against any one airline. He used the names of airlines simply to illustrate the point that all airlines are at risk.”

Kelly was in Ottawa having bilateral meetings with Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

When asked about Kelly’s comments, Goodale said people should not be “spooked” and that aviation safety has been a high priority in Canada for years.