New Measures to Enhance Airport Security

October 11, 2001

The Government of Canada today announced a wide range of new measures to enhance the security of operations at Canada's airports by making sure that we continue to have the appropriate technology, training and personnel to meet modern security challenges.

These measures are an important part of the Government’s $280 million Anti-Terrorism Plan – a plan that brings to $1.8 billion the amount the Government of Canada has invested in policing, security and intelligence since Budget 2000.

The measures announced today represent investments of more than $79 million for new equipment and supporting activities at Canadian airports, ensuring that Canada’s aviation system remains among the safest in the world.

In addition, $12 million is being allocated annually to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and Transport Canada to meet staffing requirements related to public security and anti-terrorism programs.

The measures announced today include:

• $55.7 million for the purchase of advanced explosives detection systems (EDS) and related state-of-the-art electronic security capabilities for Canadian airports.
• More than $3 million to deploy 27 additional airport security inspectors across Canada, to strengthen regulatory capacity for responding to new and emerging security threats and to support the implementation of new technologies through employee training programs.
• $750,000 for an analysis of advanced and evolving security practices and technologies for airport security operations, including the use of various technologies such as biometrics.
• $6 million for leading-edge technology and information systems to better connect front-line officers to Customs data banks and those of other law-enforcement agencies, both foreign and domestic.
• $6 million for technology such as x-ray machines to facilitate better screening of goods.
• $9 million for 130 additional customs officers, mainly at seaports and airports.
• $8 million for new equipment such as scanning units for use by the RCMP at airports, border crossings, ports and offices for the electronic transmission and analysis of fingerprints, palmprints and photographs.
• $1.5 million for the purchase of fingerprint card conversion technology to upgrade the Canadian Criminal Records System.
• An investment of $770,000 to increase the ability of the RCMP Emergency Response Team to undertake tactical response capabilities.

The Government of Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Plan has four objectives:

• stop terrorists from getting into Canada and protect Canadians from terrorist acts;
• bring forward tools to identify, prosecute, convict and punish terrorists;
• prevent the Canada-US border from being held hostage by terrorists and impacting on the Canadian economy; and
• work with the international community to bring terrorists to justice and address the root causes of such hatred.