Stupid no-fly list coming to Canada
A no-fly list is a complete waste of money, people and other resources. The list is easily available to any terrorists. If their name is on the list they’ll just make a fake ID. Having the list will ensure that the alias won’t be on the list. It’s actually helpful to terrorists.
It might catch stupid potential terrorists, like Richard Reed. If they somehow manage to get on the list first.
What the list is really good is causing havoc in the lives of people who have a similar name to someone on the list, or even worse, the same name. If you somehow end up on the list, you’re in a world of problems. It’s nearly impossible to get off the list. There is a "procedure" to get your name expunged, but in practice it doesn’t really exist. It’s probably one very overloaded person, working part time. In the basement, behind a "Beware of Leopard" sign.
The list is also good for politicians who want to appear to be "doing something" about the problem. They will also say that it’s easy for innocent people to get off the list. In reality, that’s the lowest priority. It’s just a buzzword, and helps the politician to "stay on message". It’s like the argument that innocent non-criminals shouldn’t be against whatever legal rights that are taken away by the latest crime bill.
It gets worse when our no-fly list gets merged into other countries compiled lists. The US list casts a notoriously wide net, and it’s even harder to get off their list. If you end up on the list, you can forget about ever flying again.
The no-fly list is sham, for appearances only. Why doesn’t the government stop wasting money on this, and put it to use where it might have a possible result. The Conservatives are always pointing out ways that the Liberals wasted money when they were in charge, yet this idea is folly too.
