Politics

Extra screening measures for travellers to India have been lifted, minister's office says

The extra screening measures that were imposed earlier this week on people travelling to India have now been lifted, says the office of Transport Minister Anita Anand.

Transport Minister Anita Anand said Monday the measures would be temporary

A woman in a pink jacket speaks with a Canadian flag in the background.
Minister of Transport Anita Anand makes an announcement on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press)

The extra screening measures imposed earlier this week on people travelling to India have now been lifted, says the office of Transport Minister Anita Anand.

On Monday, Anand said in a news statement that, "out of an abundance of caution," her ministry would temporarily implement additional security screening for travellers to India.

A government official told CBC News the additional measures would be conducted by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), the agency responsible for screening passengers and their baggage before they enter restricted areas in airports.

The official spoke on background because they weren't authorized to share the details publicly. 

Last month, an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was diverted to Iqaluit because of a bomb scare. No bomb was found on board.

Air India plane on Iqaluit Airport tarmac.
The Air India flight made an emergency landing in Iqaluit around 5:20 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2024. (Carl-Eric Cardinal/CBC)

Anand's announcement on Monday came a month after the RCMP linked agents of the Indian government to widespread crimes in Canada, including acts of murder, extortion and intimidation.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats in October on the same day RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme spoke of "well over a dozen" credible and imminent threats to members of the South Asian community, specifically Sikh members of the pro-Khalistan movement.

India has strongly denied the RCMP's allegations and quickly retaliated against the federal government by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin Lopez Steven

Associate Producer

Benjamin Lopez Steven is a reporter and associate producer for CBC Politics. He was also a 2024 Joan Donaldson Scholar and a graduate of Carleton University. You can reach him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter at @bensteven_s.

With files from Holly Cabrera