NCCM welcomes funding for No-Fly List redress in 2018 federal budget

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) has welcomed the federal government’s announcement of $81.4 million in funding over 5 years to end the false flagging of innocent persons within Canada’s Passenger Protect Program (PPP), better known as the ‘No-Fly List’.

“Today’s funding announcement is a welcome step forward for Canadians mistakenly identified on the No-Fly List, and for their families and supporters who have worked tirelessly over many years to have this injustice corrected. We hope this funding will begin to allow the affected persons to enjoy the full range of mobility rights afforded to them under the Charter,” said NCCM Executive Director Ihsaan Gardee.

The No-Fly List has long been critiqued for its false-flagging of innocent Canadians, including children, who share the same or similar name to persons deemed immediate security threats by the federal government.

This misidentification often leads to increased security checks by airport staff and other forms of humiliation, including being barred from flights altogether.

“The No-Fly List has been an ongoing issue since 9/11. Since 2015, the NCCM has documented numerous cases of persons wrongly flagged on the list. In each instance, the inability of victims to access basic information about their file and to subsequently clear their names is deeply concerning,” said NCCM Communications Coordinator Leila Nasr.

“In recent years, it has become clear that we are not simply dealing with isolated cases of false-flagging. The dehumanizing realities experienced by those on the list – and the complete lack of meaningful avenues for redress – indicate severe flaws in a travel security system which is yet to prove its validity or usefulness,” added Gardee.

In a testimony before a parliamentary committee last December, the NCCM noted that no evidence has been provided about the effectiveness of the No-Fly List.

NCCM says that it will continue to urge the government to review the overall efficacy of the No-Fly List.