(Ottawa) International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan called earlier this year for a treatment reserved for a handful of Canadians, including the Prime Minister: the right not to be subject to various security screening measures in Canadian airports before flying.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
He was eventually granted a partial exemption after an unusual move by senior Foreign Ministry officials to the Transport Ministry, it has been learned. The Press from a reliable source.
Since Justin Trudeau’s Liberals came to power, at least one other minister has tried to obtain such an exemption, former finance minister Bill Morneau, on the grounds that he carried cabinet confidences with him when he was flying to Toronto. But this privilege was denied to him. According to our information, no other federal cabinet minister has obtained or sought to obtain such distinct treatment at Canadian airports.
In the case of Minister Sajjan, the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister at Global Affairs Canada, Julie Sunday, submitted a request on his behalf in late January, when MPs were due to head to Ottawa for the resumption of proceedings of the House of Commons.
Since entering federal politics, Mr. Sajjan, who is of the Sikh faith, has complained to some of his cabinet colleagues that he sometimes has his turban secondary searched after the alarm goes off when he passed through passenger checkpoints before they entered the secure area of the airport.
Under current regulations, a limited number of Canadians are exempt from pre-flight screening: the Prime Minister and his immediate family, the Governor General, and judges of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Mr. Sajjan has represented the riding of Vancouver South, British Columbia, in the House of Commons since 2015. He is therefore often called upon to fly to Ottawa during parliamentary proceedings.
After leading the Department of Defense for six years, Harjit Sajjan was transferred to the Department for International Development following the most recent federal election. When he was Minister of Defense, Mr. Sajjan had in his possession documents that were highly more confidential than since he took up his new post, in which he also reports to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly.
Email exchange
“Following our conversation, attached is a letter signed by Julie Sunday, the head of security at Global Affairs, authorizing Mr. Sajjan to bypass security checks at Canadian airports on Canadian commercial flights when in possession of secret documents. I am confident this meets the required requirements and would appreciate your informing the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority,” Bruce Murdock, director of corporate security for Global Affairs Canada, wrote in an email to Pierre. Mondor, responsible for the compliance and inspection program at the Ministry of Transport.
This email was sent on January 26, five days before Parliament resumed. A minister is almost always in possession of secret documents when he travels between Ottawa and his residence.
“Hello Bruce. I confirm receipt of the letter. It will be sent to CATSA [l’Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien] for distribution. If the Minister encounters any difficulty whatsoever, do not hesitate to inform us,” replied Mr. Mondor on January 27.
First, a denial
“It is obvious that the minister tried to obtain preferential treatment with this request,” said a government source who requested anonymity because she feared being the target of reprisals.
The Department of Transport sent this request to CATSA. The Crown corporation denied the request on the grounds that the Minister was not eligible for such treatment.
After this first refusal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs returned to the charge by specifying that Minister Sajjan must imperatively obtain this exemption when he travels carrying Cabinet confidences or a telephone that he uses in the course of his functions. . A letter confirming this status would be provided to him each time he flew.
The request was the subject of an email exchange between the Department of Transport, the Department of Foreign Affairs and CATSA. Finally, Minister Sajjan obtained a partial exemption in February. In an email to The Press, Minister Sajjan’s office confirmed that he had obtained such an exemption. “The Minister is often required to travel with classified material and equipment between Ottawa and his residence in British Columbia. In order to ensure that classified material or equipment is not viewed by persons without the appropriate security clearance, authorities have granted this exemption to the search of security-sensitive material, and only for this material,” said Haley Hodgson, Minister Sajjan’s press secretary, in an email to The Press.
She clarified that the Minister does not use this exemption for any other purpose.
The minister and his belongings always go through security screening, often including secondary screening, on all domestic flights, like any Canadian.
Haley Hodgson, Press Secretary to Minister Harjit Sajjan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to answer questions from The Press to explain the process undertaken on behalf of Minister Sajjan.
“Global Affairs Canada does not comment on security-related matters,” Jason Kung, spokesperson for the department, said in an email.