I am happy to report that Canada (well, YYZ at least) now allows people to take their sealed, tamper-proof, bags from European duty-free stores through domestic security.

Upon arrival this afternoon around 1430 from MUC, there were two CATSA guys sitting in their usual spot in the hallway leading from customs to the luggage drop-off. One of them saw me with my bag, and when I asked him whether common sense had started to apply at Pearson, he told me that yes, today was the first day! He wanted to take a picture of the sealed bag, stating that he hadn't seen that particular kind before.

(The bag was simply a large, sturdy plastic bag with "DO NOT OPEN" written on each outside edge, and a tamper-evident seal at the top. The bottle I had bought, along with the receipt, were inside. Each European country has its own country code designation printed on the bag.)

I got escorted to domestic security upstairs with my bag in hand, and when the CATSA agent manning the X-ray machine told me that I was not allowed to bring my bag through, the training session began, with the manager going through the detailed explanation of the new rule, how it hadn't filtered down yet, and showing the various features of the bag to the agents. At one point there were six or eight of them watching the procedure. As a final step, just to make sure I didn't magically produce the bag myself between getting off one plane and onto the next, they punched a hole in it and then tested the air inside the bag with an explosives sniffer.

On another note, it seemed that everyone was getting the full-body massage pat-down and most luggage was being tested by ETD.

All in all an interesting experience, and I am very glad to see that common sense has started to apply at Toronto airport.

Edit: This link explains the pilot project in effect as of 4/30/10.