Toronto airport yanks RCMP privileges after undercover visit

Colin Freeze, Toronto, ON (Globe and Mail) – Toronto’s airport authority has responded to an alleged security breach at Pearson Airport by pulling escort privileges from four airport Mounties and has urged Transport Canada to investigate the activities involving its own Minister.

The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that Transportation Minister John Baird and Senator Colin Kenny visited the Toronto airport this past weekend to check on security measures. While doing so, they entered the airport tarmac from a public roadway outside the perimeter without having their credentials checked.

At the time the politicians were accompanied by four plainclothes RCMP minders.

The GTAA responded to The Globe’s report by issuing a statement Thursday morning.

“Preliminary reports from the Minister and the Senator indicate that the RCMP officers were not vigilant in supervising their temporary pass holders,” the release said.

“Pending the completion of a review of the situation, the GTAA has revoked the escort privileges of the RCMP officers involved.”

The GTAA says the unnamed Mountie escorts had an obligation to “maintain visual contact” on their guests and to notify the GTAA if any breaches occurred.

The airport authority says that “Transport Canada is conducting a review of the facts in this case and will determine if any breach of security took place.”

Mr. Baird said the GTAA’s reaction is unacceptable and that he intends to meet with airport officials next week.

“It’s never good to blame the messenger,” he told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“What I saw simply is unacceptable. And if the Toronto Airport Authority doesn’t share that view, that causes me even more concern. I’ll be meeting with them next week but their reaction today is unacceptable.”

Asked specifically what he found to be unacceptable during his visit, he said:

“The fact that there were doors that were unlocked and no security present which would allow anybody from the street to walk in.”

Senator Kenny described to The Globe how his intent was to highlight vulnerabilities to Mr. Baird as they drove outside the perimeter. He said they entered the tarmac through an open door somewhere on airport property.

Mr. Kenny said he went first, followed by the Minister and then the plainclothes Mounties.

The men spoke to airport workers on the tarmac for about half an hour without anyone asking about their credentials.

The Greater Toronto Airport Authority had issued the politicians passes for the visit, but according to Mr. Kenny, the passes went unchecked on the tarmac.

The airport authority’s statement does not address whether the alleged vulnerabilities in the airport perimeter have been fixed.

But “as with all issues of safety and security, the GTAA is treating this matter as very serious.”

Senator Kenny called the allegations of Mountie misconduct “nonsense” and a “red herring.”

“The GTAA has decided the best defence is an offence, and if they can offload it onto the cops, it will distract people from the fact they are doing a lousy job,” said Mr. Kenny.

“I’m astonished that their first reaction is to want to shoot the messenger.”

The Senator said there is no evidence that the four Mounties who shadowed him and Mr. Baird behaved inappropriately. He said the police always kept their eyes on them, but never told the politicians where or where not to go.

“The Mounties are doing a terrific job, when you look at the amount of contraband they seized,” said Mr. Kenny, who was also given a tour of the drug-seizure warehouse on Sunday. He added that “the Minister has shown a remarkable amount of interest in this.”

But he added the GTAA “should pull up its socks.”

For example, he said that during the official part of their airport tour, Mr. Baird and he were shown an X-ray machine that has been mothballed for three years. The dormant machine had been purchased to screen the bags of airport employees for smuggled contraband.

Mr. Kenny has long suggested that corrupt workers – not passengers – pose the biggest potential threats to aviation security, a position that has also lately been advanced by RCMP and the Auditor-General.

However, the Senator said it has been difficult to convince the GTAA of this, as its officials have refused to testify before the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence.