U.S. wants Canadian airlines to disclose passenger info: report

[CBC News]

Canadian airlines flying through U.S. airspace will have to hand over the personal data of everyone aboard the plane if a U.S.-proposed program comes into effect.
That's even if the destination does not include the States.
But the Secure Flight program, the brainchild of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has already met swift opposition from the organization that represents all Canadian airlines.
In a report published in Thursday's Globe and Mail, the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) said it was taken aback by the call to require Canadian airlines to hand over passenger lists 72 hours before departing for destinations that travel in the path of U.S. airspace.
The requirement to hand over the passenger information would stick regardless of whether the plane takes off or lands at a U.S. airport, meaning the changes would affect Canadian flights to such holiday hotspots as Mexico and Cuba. However, in-country flights that only briefly cross U.S. airspace (such as Vancouver via Toronto) are excluded.
Homeland Security's Transportation Security Agency (TSA) wrote that the goal of the proposal is to "prevent known or suspected terrorists from boarding aircraft where they may jeopardize the lives of passengers and others," according to the Globe.
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[Colpy]

Yep.

Listened to this debate on "As It Happens" tonight.

Now, let me say first, I think this is silly, indicative of the paranoia the USA seems so unwilling to let go of.

That said:

I Listened to one of the hosts announce all this was about passengers "that are absolutely no threat to America". HUH?!

If they are flying in US Airspace, guess what? They damned well COULD be a threat to the USA. It is their airspace, and they have every right to require whatever they wish from anyone that wants to enter..........if they want you to strip, paint green and orange polka dots on your body, and twirl burning hoops while singing the theme song to Oklahoma, you have a choice......do it or stay the f@#$ out of their space.

Simple really, isn't it?

As long as I'm bashing CBC Radio (I listen to it probably about 30 minutes a week, in the car ONLY) I heard on the national news, for God's sake, an item about how teenage girls under the age of 14, who were yelled at by their teachers, were MUCH more apt to have sex...........given as simple cause and effect.

IDIOTS!

Obviously, those girls rebellious enough to get yelled at a lot are the same girls rebellious enough to engage in early sexual activity.

Do you have to be REALLY stupid to work for CBC radio?

Or do you simply have to have a really dumb-ass political agenda?

 

[Tonington]

Well, I understand that passengers on Canadian flights that fly from say Halifax to Toronto will be exempted from this program. Technically they could ask those for those passengers details as well. Hell, it's not too far to hijack a flight leaving Toronto and fly into Buffalo...

Anyways, I think it stinks too. Our no fly list was developed with the help of Americans, so there is no reason to think our list wouldn't be adequate. But it's their space as Colpy says. In an emergency landing, someone could slip off. I think it might help the law enforcement community if they could see who it is who is unaccounted for.

 

[TenPenny]

What worries most people is that, despite the claims, it's extremely likely that these lists will not magically be destroyed, and suddenly the US will have a list of, say, every Canadian who went on a vacation to Cuba. And knowing the US' rules, that will be a great reason to ban you from entering the US.

 

[Outta here]

I was listening to this on the news on the drive home this evening. They said they want to make sure no one's flying over their space that's on their 'watch' list.

Wouldn't it make more sense then to share the watch list with airlines so if one of those names comes up, the US can be aware of that specific person's travel plans instead of the entire population?

 

[Outta here]

What worries most people is that, despite the claims, it's extremely likely that these lists will not magically be destroyed, and suddenly the US will have a list of, say, every Canadian who went on a vacation to Cuba. And knowing the US' rules, that will be a great reason to ban you from entering the US.

If that's all they did with those lists, I'd be surprised. If they do this, I hope their own tourism industry falls right off the planet in response. Not likely though eh?

 

[dj03]

Once they pull their troops out of Iraq they will probably re-deploy them to Canada to tranquilize us and equip us with radio tracking collars.

And I for one welcome our new American overlords and remind them that as a prolific internet poster I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves...wait a sec...that's from an American show!!!! 8O