The RCMP and CSIS will be able to examine up to 34 pieces of information about everyone who flies within Canada under a passenger-screening program currently under development.

Starting in March, Canada's new no-fly list will be introduced for domestic flights and in June for international flights. The program, known as Passenger Protect, places the onus on airlines to check the names of passengers against the no-fly list and notify Transport Canada if there is a match.

That responsibility would shift to the RCMP and CSIS with the new program under development.

The federal agencies would be given authority to automate the analysis of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data from airlines and aviation reservation systems without a warrant.

API data is collected at check-in and includes name, date of birth, gender, citizenship or nationality and travel document information. PNR data is collected at the time of booking and includes information relating to a traveller's reservation and itinerary.

Among other pieces of information, the program would require airlines to gather and share a passenger's full name, date of birth, and gender -- information they don't currently collect for domestic flights.

The program will be authorized under Section 4.82 of the Aeronautics Act, which was added in 2002 when the Public Safety Act was passed but not yet in force.

Section 4.82 gives the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP the right to analyze API and PNR data from airlines and aviation reservation systems -- without a warrant.

Mary O'Donoghue, senior counsel for the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, fears the government is casting too wide a net.

"Moving it to domestic airlines is a huge expansion, from what normally is a border-control issue," she told The Globe and Mail.

"Flying has to be an everyday right and need."

She points out that mistakes can be made once people's names are added to lists like these.

"Look at the story about Mr. Arar. He can't get off the (U.S.) list."

There is currently no timetable for introducing the Section 4.82 program, as Ottawa is still investigating its feasibility.

One of the studies it has commissioned found that the proposed screening system could cost between $95 million and $270 million.

"The government will need to spend significant personnel resources to both clean up the data and clear passengers who have been falsely identified and allow them to continue travelling," reads the IBM Global Services study, recently released under Access to Information laws.

The 34 pieces of information that would be examined are:

  1. Surname, first name and initial or initials.
  2. Date of birth.
  3. Citizenship or nationality or, if not known, the country that issued the travel documents for the person's flight.
  4. Gender.
  5. Passport number and, if applicable, visa number or residency document number.
  6. The date on which passenger name was first recorded with airline.
  7. If applicable, a notation the person arrived at the departure gate with a ticket but without a reservation for the flight.
  8. If applicable, the names of the travel agency and travel agent who made the person's travel arrangements.
  9. Date airline ticket was issued.
  10. If applicable, a notation the person exchanged their ticket for another flight.
  11. The date, if any, by which a ticket for a flight had to be paid to avoid cancellation of the reservation; or the date, if any, on which the request for a reservation was activated by the air carrier or travel agency.
  12. Airline ticket number.
  13. Whether the flight is a one-way.
  14. If applicable, a notation the person's ticket for the flight is valid for one year and is issued for travel between specified points with no dates.
  15. The city or country where the flight begins.
  16. All points where a passenger will embark or disembark.
  17. The name of airline.
  18. The names of all airlines to be used on trip.
  19. The aircraft operator's code and flight ID number.
  20. The person's destination.
  21. The travel date for the person's flight.
  22. Any seat assignment on the person's flight selected for the person before departure.
  23. Number of pieces of baggage checked by the person.
  24. The baggage tag numbers
  25. Class of service (first class, business class, economy).
  26. Any specific seat request.
  27. The passenger name record number.
  28.  Phone numbers of the person and, if applicable, of the travel agency that made the arrangements.
  29. Passenger's address and, if applicable, that of the travel agency.
  30. How the passenger paid for the ticket.
  31. If applicable, a notation the ticket was paid for by another person
  32. If applicable, a notation when there are gaps in the passenger's itinerary that necessitate travel by an undetermined method.
  33. Departure and arrival points, codes of the aircraft operators, stops and surface segments.
  34. If applicable, a notation the ticket is in electronic form and stored in an aviation reservation system.