This Article is From Mar 22, 2017

Canada Weighs Banning On-Flight Electronics, After Decision By US, UK

Canada Weighs Banning On-Flight Electronics, After Decision By US, UK

Canada is considering prohibiting personal electronics onboard flights from Turkey and Middle East.

Ottawa: Canada is considering prohibiting personal electronics onboard flights from Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa after both the US and Britain announced bans, the transportation minister said Tuesday.

"We are looking at the information that has been presented to us, we'll look at it carefully and have a fulsome discussion amongst our colleagues," Minister Marc Garneau told reporters.

"The (threat) information," he said, "has been provided to us by other intelligence communities."

The three countries routinely share intelligence, including on terrorism threats, as part of the Five Eyes intelligence gathering alliance.

Garneau said he would discuss this latest possible threat to airlines with Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and "we'll make that public when we make a decision."

The United States earlier banned laptops and tables in airplane cabins on flights from airports in eight countries, warning that extremists planned to target planes with bombs in electronic devices.

The US ban includes any device bigger than a smartphone, including laptops, tablets and portable game consoles.
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