The agency responsible for airline security in Canada paid the RCMP $40 million a year to provide armed officers on domestic and international flights as a deterrent to terrorists.
Newly released documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen show for first time the high costs off the secretive air marshals program put in place after the 9/11 terrorist strikes in the United States.
Billing records show that the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority was invoiced by the Mounties about $10 million every quarter between 2004 and 2006, before the arrangement was restructured and the federal government began funding the program directly.
Despite the cost, there is no indication a Canadian air marshal has ever had to intervene against a potential security threat while in flight. They are not allowed to get involved with instances of air rage or unruly passengers, in case the disruption is a ruse to draw them out.
The RCMP and CATSA have defended the deterrent value of the highly trained “Aircraft Protective Officers,” saying that although the marshals are not on every flight, the chance there might be one aboard will deter potential hijackers.
Critics contend that the deterrent is limited as the RCMP has, until recently, been extremely secretive about the program. They also say that the strengthening of cockpit doors in passenger jets has been a more effective response to the hijack threat.
The plainclothes RCMP officers first began flying on Canadian flights into Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., a condition put in place by U.S. authorities. Air marshals also fly on other routes selected by the RCMP.
The force doesn’t discuss the routes it staffs, but Air Canada flights into Tel Aviv, Israel, are almost certain to be frequented by air marshals. The officers were also believed to log a lot of domestic air miles during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Last fall, news leaked out that the RCMP planned to cut the budget for the program by about 25 per cent, a move denounced by opposition politicians as a risk to security. But even then, the costs of the program were not revealed.
If funding levels for the program remained at 2006 levels, the program would still be costing around $30 million annually.
The other, uncalculated cost of air marshals is the hit incurred by airlines who must free up seats on crowded flights to accommodate the air marshal teams.
“Given the load factors that airlines are carrying, it really does mean that we’re very rarely flying empty seats,” said Michael Skrobica of the airline lobby group Air Transport Association of Canada. “So there’s a revenue loss.”
Tactically, the seats at the front of the aircraft put an air marshal in the best position to defend the cockpit. These, however, are also the executive class seats and the biggest revenue generators for airlines.
Worse, say industry insiders, is that on larger aircraft used on international flights, the RCMP deploy teams of several officers to protect the entire aircraft, forcing airlines to give up even more revenues.
Until the invoices were released, both CATSA and the RCMP refused to say how much money was involved in the program. The Ottawa Citizen first requested the documents from the RCMP through the Access to Information Act in 2002. The request was rejected for unspecified security reasons.
Another request made to CATSA in 2006 was also rejected but the Citizen appealed to the Office of the Information Commissioner. The complaint languished until this year, when officials working for new information commissioner Suzanne Legault asked CATSA to reconsider. The agency finally agreed to release quarterly billing records for a three-year period preceding the original request.
Canada’s air marshals are highly trained police officers who are re-certified twice a year. They practice at a facility near Ottawa. Typical rotations in the unit last three years.
By Glen McGregor, Postmedia News
Gravity always wins!