Six-year-old Markham boy still on no-fly list, parents say

A Markham boy who made national headlines because his name appeared on Canada’s no-fly list is still on it.

Six-year-old Syed Adam Ahmed, who had to go through rigourous security checks to fly to Boston two months ago, was supposed to be removed from the no-fly list by now. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale promised on Jan. 3 that he would review the specifics of the boy’s case because airlines were “ignoring a directive from the government not to screen minors.”

But when Ahmed went through security Friday morning at Pearson International to fly to a family wedding in Edmonton, the flags came up again.

“We weren’t able to check in online again,” said Khadija Cajee, the boy’s mother.

And while the Air Canada ticket agent didn’t have to call the operating security centre to have the boy cleared for check in, “she still had to visually identify the flagged passenger, in this case being my son.”

That means Ahmed is still on the no-fly list, she said.

“He still needs to be visually identified,” Cajee said. “He’s just a child, he’s done nothing wrong.”

Unfortunately, the boy’s name matches that of someone else on the no-fly list.

Back in January, Goodale made it clear that secondary checks are not necessary for those under the age of 18. He said airlines have been going beyond protocol and the regulations had been put in place under the Harper government.

The Liberals campaigned on a promise to review the no-fly list.

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