Air cargo securityTransport Canada turns inspection of air freight over to shippers

New Canadian rules for air cargo security introduced Monday require all companies involved in a supply chain to be part of inspecting the goods, a program that means companies will be policing themselves, a Liberal senator says. The new rules are part of a Transport Canada program to beef up air cargo security, which includes $95.7 million in funding.

Vancouver Sun’s Tracy Sherlock writes that across Canada, more than 75 percent of air cargo travels on passenger planes, but cargo does not face the same scrutiny as passengers, who, along with their carry-on baggage, face stringent rules and in-depth searches before boarding.

At Vancouver International Airport, just over half of the 198,422 tons of cargo shipped in 2009 was carried in the belly of passenger aircraft, the airport’s director of communications Rebecca Catley told Sherlock in an e-mail.

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, who is the chair of a committee that has written three reports on airport security, said he would prefer to see cargo pass through a central inspection facility immediately before being loaded on the plane.

Transport Canada says central inspection is not ideal. “Unlike the screening of passengers and baggage, which can only be undertaken at the airport immediately before departure, it is neither practical nor desirable for all air cargo screening to be undertaken by air carriers at the last minute at the airport. Backlogs would result, and clog up the fast-flow of massive amounts of air cargo shipments,” Transport Canada said in a press release.

Kenny said companies inspecting their own shipments is a conflict of interest because they have a financial interest in making sure the shipment goes through. “It’s like me showing up at an [airport inspection] line and saying, ‘Hey guys, there’s no change in my pockets and I don’t have any fluids, so I’m okay to get on the plane.’ I don’t think they’d let me on,” Kenny said. “[The companies involved] have a direct interest in making a profit, whereas someone who is getting paid on an hourly basis [to do inspections] would say, I’ve got rules to follow and I’m not going to cut any corners.”

The new program will perform security checks on the companies that will be screening cargo, and provide government oversight, but the final onus will rest on the air carrier to ensure any cargo taken on board is secure. The new program gives air carriers the right to refuse cargo that is suspect, or return it for re-inspection to the supplier, shipper or freight forwarder.

Companies will be obliged to use new technology for screening, which may include physical inspection, canine checks, explosive trace detection or X-ray scanning.

Kenny does not think the funding will be enough to ensure adequate security. “It’s five years, it’s $20 million a year. There are 7,000 shippers in Canada and 750 freight forwarders. Freight moves 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.

Air Canada would not comment on whether the funding would cover the costs of becoming compliant, and referred financial questions to Transport Canada. “We will be compliant with the new rules, but are unable to discuss them for security reasons,” Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said in an e-mail. Mah said Air Canada does not expect any changes to passenger check-in times as a result of the new rules.