As Canadians were winding down from the first long weekend of the summer and CT&L was headed to press, Ottawa unveiled a major new initiative involving air cargo security.
Six federal ministers, led by transport minister John Baird, fanned out across the country to announce that Ottawa will be spending $95.7 million over the next five years to boost air cargo security.
The government says that its Air Cargo Security Program is designed to ensure that companies screening cargo have received thorough security checks and that all cargo screening is completed and verified "at the highest standards using the most effective technologies."
Specifically, the program involves a regulatory plan with four goals:
• There will be an obligation for all cargo shippers, freight forwarders and air carriers in the supply chain to ensure that cargo screening is completed and verified;
• Shippers, freight forwarders and air carriers will use newer and more effective technologies and processes to screen cargo;
• All companies involved in screening cargo will require thorough security checks; and • Canada's air cargo screening will be compatible with other trading partners.
The new measures will be rolled out first at our seven busiest airports, starting with cargo to be carried on overseas flights, followed by flights to the US. Domestic cargo will be the last to see the new screening.
Canada had already stepped up a host of aviation security measures after an al-Qaeda- trained suicide bomber tried to blow up a US-bound transatlantic flight with a bomb hidden in his underpants this past Christmas. Baird stressed that Canada can't afford to be the "weakest link" in transnational aviation cargo regimes.
"An attack on the United States or Great Britain is an attack on Canada," he said.
Under the new program, the government will increase the scope of mandatory screening, for example, by making the higher-risk classes and the sources of air cargo a priority. The program will define which technologies and processes are acceptable for screening of different risk classes of cargo along the supply chain (e. g., factors will be considered, such as the origin and destination of the cargo, the type of aircraft used -whether passenger or all-cargo, and the contents, size/ configuration and wrapping/packaging and sealing of the cargo). Through an analysis of these factors, shippers will know which screening and process is acceptable: either physical inspection, canine check, explosives trace detection or X-ray scanning.
Air carriers will continue to have ultimate responsibility to ensure that air cargo they take on board is secure, and will have the right to re-screen or refuse cargo whose security is suspect.
Baird said the new funding is being put in place to:
• Allow for the use of screening technology;
• Ensure the government has oversight capacity with the new inspectors;
• Enhance training programs; and
• Support shippers, agents/freight forwarders and air carriers in complying with the new program in this five-year timeframe.