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Canadian Press - October 06, 2005
Canadian Muslim group considers legal action
against proposed no-fly list
TORONTO (CP) - A national Islamic group is asking Muslims who have been stopped at Canadian airports to come forward in hopes of launching a legal challenge against no-fly lists.
The Canadian Islamic Congress has issued the call because many Muslims are making travel preparations for the hajj, a major religious ritual, early next year. About 5,000 Muslims in Canada are expected to make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in January.
Ottawa has said it wants to set up a no-fly list to take effect next year, though airlines already exercise their own security measures.
Congress president Mohamed Elmasry says he wants to know how people on the list would be notified, how long they would stay on it and how names could be removed.
In August, Elmasry sent a letter to federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre opposing the planned list, expected to contain about 1,000 names.
Lapierre has said the list, to be developed with the help of the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, would only name those who pose "an immediate threat to aviation security."
Elmasry cited one incident a few weeks ago in which he said a Muslim family from Ontario was not allowed to bring their baby on board.
Elmasry, who could not provide further details of the incident, said that case triggered the call to solicit other similar stories…
http://www.canada.com/travel/story.html?id=47091f8e-1f03-4f4c-868b-b1dbf906074c
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