No. H251/05
For release November 23, 2005

TRANSPORT MINISTER
ANNOUNCES ADVISORY PANEL
AND REVIEW OF THE CANADIAN AIR
TRANSPORT SECURITY AUTHORITY ACT

OTTAWA – Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre today announced the appointment of an advisory panel to assist him in conducting a review of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) Act. Mr. Reg Whitaker will serve as Chair, and Mr. Jacques Bourgault and Mr. Chern Heed will serve as panellists.

The Act came into force on April 1, 2002. It requires that the Minister of Transport complete a review of the provisions and operation of the legislation during its fifth year and report to Parliament on the results.

“This expert panel will consult with stakeholders across the country in order to identify possible changes and enhancements to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act,” said Mr. Lapierre. “I am pleased that these experienced and qualified individuals have agreed to take on this responsibility and I look forward to their report and recommendations.”

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, the Government of Canada committed $2.2 billion over five years to new and enhanced aviation security initiatives. One of the most significant initiatives was the creation of a new Crown corporation through the CATSA Act, that is, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, which is responsible for the delivery of several key aviation security services.

The 2002 legislation assigned CATSA authority with respect to:

• the effective and efficient screening of persons who access aircraft or restricted areas through screening points, the property in their possession or control, and the belongings or baggage that they give to the air carrier for transport;
• the management of funding agreements with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for the Canadian Air Carrier Protective Program and with airport authorities for enhanced airport policing; and
• other air transport security functions provided for in the CATSA Act or assigned to CATSA by the Minister of Transport.

The Act also requires CATSA to ensure consistency across Canada in the delivery of security screening and all other functions within its mandate.

The review will examine the provisions and operation of the Act to ensure that the legislation provides a sound and adequate statutory basis for CATSA’s air transport security mandate. The Minister of Transport is also seeking the panel’s advice on future aviation security requirements and other developments that may have an impact on the authority’s future operations.

The panel will travel to selected cities across the country to consult with air carriers, airport operators, air travellers and other federal government departments and agencies. The Minister of Transport has asked the advisory panel to complete its work by the summer of 2006.

A backgrounder with biographies of members of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority Act Review Panel is attached.

The terms of reference for the review panel are available at www.tc.gc.ca/tcss/CATSA/act_review_e.htm.

Additional information related to CATSA and its current mandate can be found at www.catsa-actsa.gc.ca.

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BACKGROUNDER

 CANADIAN AIR TRANSPORT SECURITY
AUTHORITY ACT ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERS

Reg Whitaker (Chair) is a distinguished research professor emeritus at York University, where he taught political science from 1984 to 2001, and an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.

He received a PhD in political economy from the University of Toronto and has since received many academic honours, including an Isaac Walton Killam Research Fellowship.

Professor Whitaker is one of Canada’s leading authorities in the study of political parties, federalism, security and intelligence, immigration policy and the history of political thought. He has written and co-authored many academic articles and several books, including Canada and the Cold War (2003) with Steve Hewitt, and The End of Privacy: How Total Surveillance is becoming a Reality (1999).

His work on security and intelligence has received considerable praise and attention worldwide. In collaboration with historian Greg Kealey, he compiled, edited and published eight volumes of RCMP security bulletins, covering the entire inter-war period as well as World War II.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Whitaker has provided media commentary and has provided advice to public commissions and to refugees facing deportation.

He is a member of the advisory panel to the Arar Commission’s Policy Review on the creation of an arm’s length review mechanism for the national security activities of the RCMP.

Dr. Whitaker lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Jacques Bourgault is a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal and an adjunct professor at the École nationale d’administration publique. Since 2001, Mr. Bourgault has been a research fellow at the Canada School of Public Service. His research specialities include: public management modernization, accountability, governance and public service management trends in the federal and Quebec governments.

Mr. Bourgault has acted as a consultant for the federal and provincial governments, as well as at the international level for governments in northern and sub-Saharan Africa and for the World Bank.

Professor Bourgault has served as president of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and has been a member of the boards of the Université du Québec à Montréal, l’Association canadienne pour l’avancement des sciences, the Canadian Centre for Management Development, and the Presses de l’Université Laval. He is currently a member of the science committee of the Revue française d’administration publique and sits on the editorial board of Télescope.

He has published more than 100 research papers and articles, and has written or edited several books, including Public Administration and Public Management: Experiences in Canada. Jacques Bourgault holds a Ph.D in political science from the Sorbonne University (Public Administration).

He is a lawyer and a member of the Quebec Bar and lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Chern Heed has extensive professional experience in airport planning, management and operations in Canada and abroad, including 25 years with Transport Canada. He has served as the airport general manager of both Vancouver International Airport and Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport, and as the regional director general of airports in Transport Canada’s Pacific Region, with responsibility for the management of 230 airports throughout British Columbia.

Mr. Heed’s international experience includes executive positions responsible for the planning, management and operation of the new Hong Kong International Airport.

Since 1999, Chern Heed has worked as an airports consultant, undertaking a variety of consulting projects, including advising on redevelopment of airports in Nassau, Bogotá and Moscow.

Most recently, he has served as interim project coordinator for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), leading a team of international experts planning and implementing the operational readiness activities for Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Mr. Heed holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia.

He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

November 2005