Canada's airport security gets poor grade from expert Last Updated Sun, 22 Dec 2002 22:07:50 TORONTO - The former head of security at Israel's renowned El Al airline=20 doesn't think Canada has done nearly enough to combat potential terrorist=20 threats on planes. Last week, federal Transport Minister David Collenette= =20 unveiled new equipment for detecting explosives and other weapons at=20 Pearson International Airport in Toronto. "I think that Canada's got the=20 best aviation and security regime in the world," Collenette told a news=20 conference Thursday, as he announced that a new federal agency was ready to= =20 take over screening of passengers' baggage at the country's airports. But a security consulting firm in New York isn't impressed by the measures= =20 Ottawa has taken at air terminals since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist=20 attacks against the United States. "From one to 10, and 10 is the highest,= =20 I wouldn't give them more than four," says Isaac Yeffet. "I didn't see serious changes that I can say, 'Oh Canada's improved =85=20 security to a level that in case terrorists would come to attack we can=20 stop them on the ground,'" he says. Yeffet, who used to be in charge of=20 security at El Al Israel Airline, thinks Canada should hire new screening=20 staff, instead of simply upgrading the training of existing employees. He=20 also recommends that air marshals be put on every flight, rather than on=20 only a select few. The organization representing flight attendants in=20 Canada says security has been tightened, but it's concerned that training=20 of airline workers is seriously out of date. "We're still dealing with=20 hijackers on the procedures of the 1970s =96 negotiate, and give them=20 liquids," says Richard Balnis of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. But the federal government argues that air travel is safer in Canada than=20 it used to be, especially now that a single agency has taken over security= =20 at all airports. The man taking over security at Canada's airports says=20 new training, new equipment, and a single organization in charge of=20 screening have already made flying here safer. "The quality of the service= =20 that we will be giving is higher, and it's also evolving," says Jacques=20 Duchesneau, the head of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. Written by CBC News Online staff The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************