Two months ago, Canadian airports began requiring people wearing religious headcoverings to undergo a secondary search and a test for explosives residue. Vancouver's Raj Hundal outlined his objection to the "discriminatory" practice to CBC News.
The World Sikh Organization expressed its concern, saying that "the revised procedure could potentially lead to racial profiling and bias where Sikh passengers are singled out due to their turbans and unjustly perceived as being security risks."
New turban screening procedure at Canadian airports is discriminatory @lraitt @catsa_gc @TransportCA http://t.co/C9hDvxdA51
A hockey analyst for Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition also weighed in.
Major issue for Sikhs and Canadians. This is a deliberate targeting of Turban wearing travelers. https://t.co/2kqV6q12Bw
That was all on June 16. Then, not even 24 hours later, the policy was reversed when federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt's office instructed the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to end the practice.
CBC reported that the secondary search has been stopped on all travel within Canada, and that it will soon end for travelers heading to the U.S.
The deputy leader of the Ontario NDP expressed relief that the practices was stopped.
Great work by the @WorldSikhOrg and the many individuals who spoke up in getting this misguided policy reversed. http://t.co/lr3jSGZxXV 2/2
The creator of the CBC show Little Mosque on the Prairie said the additional screening had made her "feel like a criminal."
Relieved about this decision. Made me feel like a criminal: Policy reversed on head covering searches at airports http://t.co/WdhcB2iCQz
It even drew a reaction from YouTube star Jasmeet Singh.
holy frig thank god about time... https://t.co/6MRVEO80Fk