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Remarks by Jacques Duchesneau, C.M., President and CEO, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority
Standing Committee on Transport
November 17, 2005
Check against delivery
Mr. Chairman, Honourable members.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you this morning. It's been almost six months since our last discussion. I think now is a good opportunity to bring you up to speed with what's going on at CATSA.
I am proud to report that we are on track and ahead of schedule in delivering our mandate set out in the 2001 budget.
We have set up new quality improvement processes to help us mature into an even more effective, efficient security expert.
CATSA has one priority and one alone - the security of air travelers. We fight threats every day. including threats to our credibility.
As you know, CATSA is a Crown Corporation that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport. Transport Canada is our regulator. CATSA executes the mandate.
When there is a ny vulnerability in the system, we examine it. And, where necessary, we take corrective measures. That is part of our ongoing commitment to security through continuous improvement.
A clear example of this constant process of improvement is the scheduled review of CATSA's mandate and operations.
The Transport Minister announced last week that he will appoint three people to a special review committee. You are fully aware that this move was no reactive event. In fact, it was legislated by Section 33 of the CATSA Act that created and now governs CATSA. It states that a mandatory review of CATSA's mandate will happen five years after the creation of CATSA.
We welcome the review, and all processes that will help improve our operations.
You have heard us say this before. And it is worth repeating.
CATSA is one link in a chain of defenses.
CATSA cannot and does not do security alone. It is an impossible task without the involvement and collaboration of key partners.
We work closely with police, airlines, airport authorities and Transport Canada. It is important to distinguish and understand our respective roles to get a full picture of the complexity of airport security.
Our job at CATSA is to screen passengers and their belongings to make sure no threat items enter the restricted area..
We contribute funds to ensure police presence at airports. They intervene with both passengers and non-passengers when required. CATSA contracts the RCMP to protect selected flights.
It is now a little more than three and a half years since CATSA's creation. And I can confidently tell you that we are accomplishing what we were set up to do.
And we are doing it in a cost-effective way: More than 90 cents of each dollar of our budget goes directly to frontline operations.
I'd like to share some numbers with you to illustrate the scope of our task. Every year, at 89 Canadian airports, over 4,300 highly trained officers screen more than 37 million passengers and nearly 60 million pieces of luggage.
In the last 12 months, 3 million flights carried 2 billion passengers around the globe. Yet there was not a single terror attack on an airport or commercial aircraft. We are part of that global network.
What does this tell us? That we have made airports a less attractive target. And I am proud to say that CATSA - in its work with government and industry -- has contributed to fortifying the air transportation system and securing the lives of air travelers.
Passengers also contribute.. They are also an important layer of a good security system that we must not forget. We rely on cooperation and feedback from travelers to help us perform our job efficiently and get them safely to their destination.
To the average traveler, CATSA's most visible function happens at screening points.
Screening officers undergo rigorous training to become certified. And each year, they must undergo further training to become re-certified.
To complement our team of front-line officers, we deploy state-of-the-art equipment. By the end of this year, we will have deployed 2,500 pieces of the most current screening technology for checked baggage. We will meet our deadline for 100% screening of checked baggage by December 31, 2005. That's in line with the international deadline set by t he International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
To meet this deadline, we advanced our deployment schedule by one year. In the 2001 budget, the Canadian government committed $1Billion over 5 years for the purchase, deployment and operation of EDS at airports across the country. CATSA has successfully met the target . ahead of schedule.
I'd like to clarify one aspect of our technology. A recent media report called into question our X-ray equipment and its effectiveness in screening lead-lined film bags. CATSA and Transport Canada are working together to do our own testing.
So far, these film bags that we have tested are all transparent when viewed through an x-ray machine. There appears to be no way to hide any objects within a film bag.
We have put in place processes for us to test and re-test every aspect of our operations. This is critically important to us. It allows us to measure quality and fortify the system.
We have set up a quality assessment program and do quality assessments of our screening processes at each of our airports.
We have developed a performance measurement program for our service providers. It has built-in financial incentives to promote optimal performance.
We conduct exercises at our screening points on a regular basis to ensure our readiness to respond to incidents and emergencies. We report quarterly to our board of directors on our performance.
All this quality assessment is built into our regular operations to help us mature into an agile security expert.
On top of CATSA's role of screening passengers and their belongings, CATSA's also screens some 2,300 airport workers a day. These workers --who have access to restricted areas -- are selected at random.
Well before they are granted a restricted area pass by the airport authority, they must undergo a thorough background investigation before a security clearance is granted by Transport Canada.
CATSA is currently adding an enhanced layer to airport security. By the end of this year, we will have real-time, biometric identification systems in place in Canada's 29 largest airports.
Our system of fingerprint and iris-recognition technology will cover 120,000 airport workers.
When we last spoke, there were questions about the Registered Traveler Program. This is the program designed to identify low risk travelers and put them through expedited screening.
We are making significant headway on that front.
We have received approval from our board of directors to develop and implement an operational trial.
We are working with Transport Canada to set the parameters of the program.
We are also in discussions with airports to work out the operational issues related to the deployment of the program.
So we are moving forward with a Registered Traveler Program.
Another new development at CATSA is our work bringing together international partners.
We work closely with other security agencies in Japan, Israel, Australia and other countries. Together, we share best practices and examine the latest threats.
We rely on intelligence to help us respond to threats and guide the innovation of our security system. We are working closely with Transport Canada to maintain a constant line of communication.
There is another crucial factor for us as successful security agency: flexibility and agility.
We cannot afford to remain static as an organisation.
We need the flexibility to manoeuvre and redirect our resources to target the most imminent threats.
In the security business, we know that advances in a terrorist's arsenal can make our defenses and detection techniques obsolete. Being able to operate with flexibility and having access to timely information gives us the capability to properly assess threats and take appropriate preventive measures.
As I said earlier, we are continuously fighting threats to the system. This includes threats to the system's credibility.
It is extremely important to maintain the confidence of the traveling public. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, we worked hard to rebuild the public's trust in their air security system.
That confidence is back. The numbers speak volumes.
Passenger traffic is now higher than in the months preceding 9/11.
We are seeing a trend toward even greater traffic figures for at least the next 12 months.
And yes, we do believe effective and efficient customer service is important. But let me emphasise this - nothing trumps security. Nothing.
We are also aware that the cooperation and constant vigilance of passengers are important components of air security. Travelers are telling us that they have a high level of confidence in the system.
More than 90% say they are satisfied with their experience going through a screening point. Close to 80% say that screening officers play an extremely important role in the security of air travel.
This is important to us because we believe that we can deliver effective, efficient security when we have the support of the people we serve.
Before I close, I'd like to reiterate what I have said time and again.
No security system is 100% foolproof. That is why we implement layers of detection and prevention throughout the system.
We work closely with our partners and with Transport Canada to strengthen air security. I am convinced air travelers are far safer today than they were before 9/11.
It has been nearly 4 years since the creation of CATSA. In that short time, we have accomplished what we were tasked to do. and ahead of schedule in the most important areas.
Every day, we examine our operations and find ways to improve it.
Every day, we take steps to mature into a more effective, efficient security expert.
Thank you for your time. Before we start with the questions,
I'd like to remind each and everyone of you about the open invitation to visit CATSA's Communications Centre. It is something we are very proud of and I would like to show you why firsthand.
Thank you again for your time.
