(London) Air Canada is accused in the UK House of Commons of delaying the boarding of a British MP on a flight “because his name is Mohammad”.
Clive Betts, raising a point of order in the House this week, said his fellow Labor MP Mohammad Yasin had recently been singled out for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport “for a considerable period,” while other legislators he was traveling with were allowed to pass.
Mr Betts told the House that Mr Yasin was asked if he carried a knife and where he was born.
He said the questioning was being conducted by “officials from Air Canada and, we believe, the Canadian government” even though Mr. Yasin had a visa to enter Canada.
Mr. Betts said Mr. Yasin was eventually allowed to board the flight, but was “challenged” again at the Montreal and Toronto airports.
He argued that while Mr. Yasin received an apology from Air Canada as well as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister of Immigration, it was important to put Mr. Yasin’s experiences on the parliamentary record because of their “ racist and Islamophobic nature”.
“We raised the issue with our high commissioner in Ottawa, who was supportive,” Betts said in Hansard, the official record of the proceedings.
“She was surprised by what happened, given the multicultural nature of Canada as an open and welcoming country. She has raised the issue with the Canadian government and appreciates me raising it in Parliament, to try to ensure that no one is treated this way in the future. »
Air Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the airline said in a statement reported by the BBC that it regretted any inconvenience or upset, and had contacted Mr. Yasin to apologize .
“Unfortunately, Mr. Yasin was singled out for additional pre-flight screening after a security check, but he was still able to travel as planned because he was quickly cleared,” Air Canada said, according to the BBC.
“We are internally monitoring the handling of this particular matter to ensure procedures have been followed correctly and we have also been in contact with the UK and Canadian authorities. »