OTTAWA — Federal Transport Minister John Baird spent several days in Israel recently exploring that country’s airport security methods and looking for ways to adapt its successful screening measures for use here in Canada.
John Baird, right, with the Western Wall Rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, centre, and Nathan Jacobson.
“We had an amazing trip,” said Baird, whose senior policy adviser, Adam Blinick, accompanied him. “We had a significant number of security briefings, met with representatives of Shin Bet, with people involved in aviation counter-terrorism, and learned a tremendous amount… we learned about security for cargo, people and airport security. Obviously, the threat in Israel is different, but there is much we can learn, particularly on behavioural analysis. That was worth the trip in and of itself.”
Baird, who is also federal infrastructure minister, met with his counterparts, Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and Uzi Landau, minister of national infrastructure.
They agreed to work together on a Canada-Israel Blue Skies Agreement to allow more links between the countries, providing more accessibility for Air Canada and El Al in each others’ countries.
Baird said he told them, “You can’t have a better friend of Israel than Canada – and especially me – so if we can’t come to an agreement that helps both of us, we never will!”
Other items on Baird’s agenda included briefings about Canada’s involvement in the West Bank, where, he said, “we provide work, but don’t provide money directly.” He said the economy in the West Bank is showing some positive signs, which he feels will lead to an easing of tensions.
A visit to a company that’s working on an electric car, which Baird said would be great for investment and reduce our reliance on the combustion engine, as well as a meeting with the private operator of the main north-west highway (built with Canadian assistance) and a meeting with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat were also on Baird’s itinerary.
During dinner with Canada’s ambassador to Israel, Jon Allen, Baird said they celebrated the recent memorandum of understanding between the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. “This will be great news for both Canadian and Israeli companies,” he said.
Canada will be investing in new airport security equipment and has awarded a contract to a U.S. firm with Israeli expertise.
“We are taking some significant moves on aviation security. There are a lot of lessons we can learn [from Israel],” said Baird.
Summing up, Baird said “there is a growing recognition that the Canada-Israel relationship has made a huge leap… over the last four years, which made me very proud.”