Canada will always be at the mercy of the U.S. on security matters

Duchesneau, a former Montreal police chief, has been head of the organization that was created in 2002 after four suicide jetliner hijackings in the United States killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.

The mission of the Crown corporation is to protect the flying public.

Duchesneau noted how Canada immediately followed the U.S. ban on liquids and gels on airplanes after the arrests of suspected British terrorists this summer who allegedly planned to use liquid explosives on planes.

"We have very little room to manoeuvre," he said, adding such an attack emanating from Canada would have a devastating effect on the country's reputation.

In the four years the Crown corporation has existed, Duchesneau said there have been no serious incidents but "I am touching wood and with both hands."

Duchesneau said his organization has a great responsiblity and that every detail counts.

"A small incident that happens in Halifax can have an impact on what's going to be done in Vancouver," he said.

"I would have great difficulty accepting that something happened because of negligence on my part or because I wasn't paying attention to what's going on in the world. The chances of Osama bin Laden coming to a Canadian airport are zero but there are other threats."

With the goal of minimizing risks, Duchesneau said he's even ready to put aside political correctness.

In an interview published recently, Duchesneau said he'd like to see changes to regulations that call for in-depth searches to be random despite the appearance of passengers.

"There has to be some segregation whether one wants it or not," he said, adding that some searches take more time than others.

"When you look at how terrorist attacks are done today, it's very rare they do one attack at a time. They do multiple attacks. If we didn't have this co-ordination across the country, the system wouldn't be able to react as quickly as it must in the case of an attack."

Since September 2001, training for airport security has evolved.

"What we're teaching today, we weren't teaching four years ago and I imagine that we will not be teaching the same things next year."

In collaboration with the University of Zurich in Switzerland, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has made a video game that allows security agents to train themselves to detect suspicious packages.

"We already have a good number of our agents who are at level 12 and we're working to create levels 13, 14 and 15 because they're capable of beating the machine."

His organization also works more closely with police and other agencies worldwide that are dedicated to air security.

In September, Duchesneau and other members of his organization will tour Canada's 89 airports to remind airport security agents to stay vigilant.

These agents make about 100 million decisions a year, search 39 million passengers and inspect 60 million pieces of baggage.

The goal is to be thorough but respectful of passengers.

"We see that if we treat our passengers correctly, they'll become our allies."

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