OTTAWA - Transport Minister John Baird said a video posted to YouTube showing veiled passengers boarding a plane without showing their faces at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport was “deeply disturbing.” The video, filmed July 11 and posted last month by a British traveller, purports to show a man presenting passports to an Air Canada check-in clerk for himself and four women, two of whom have veils covering their faces, two of whom do not. The clerk does not check to see the faces of the veiled women, and all five board flight AC 864 from Montreal to Heathrow. On Sunday, Baird issued a statement responding to “recent media reports (that) have suggested that individuals routinely board aircraft without being visually identified.” According to Transport Canada’s Identity Screening Regulations, each passenger must hand over their own government-issued identification to the clerk, who checks to make certain the traveller is who he or she claims to be. The statement from Baird said airlines have policies to check the identities of those who cover their faces. “Their approach is to be consistent with international standards and apply equally to all passengers, regardless of a person's culture or religion,” he said. “If the reports are true, the situation is deeply disturbing and poses a serious threat to the security of the air travelling public.” Baird said the Department of Transport is to “immediately look into this matter and report back.”
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