Our Canadian son was born to Canadian parents in Canada last year. He is now 18 months old. We are not frequent fliers, but have flown with him approximately 3 or 4 times (returns flights) since my wife's family lives in a different province. They have all been domestic flights.

Every single time we flew with him (AC or Westjet, all domestic), we had minor trouble when checking in. We could not check in online and had to go to the counter, somebody would have to make a phone call and eventually we would be allowed to go.

Up until the latest flight, we were typically fed an excuse about having registered him incorrectly (you used "Mr." instead of "Master" as his title). It was only for the most recent flight, just my wife flying with him, but I was with them at the counter, that the lady kindly told us (perhaps against her protocol) that his name is on a no fly list. So I believe his name has been on this list as long as he has been flying (since 6 months old). When we heard this, we were in shock and disbelief. He has an anglo first name, for what it's worth. However the fact that the list can't distinguish a person of interest from an infant is outrageous.

I called Westjet today to follow up, as they advised me to. They gave me a frustrating run-around. The first lady I spoke, after a long wait on hold where she consulted someone else, told me again that it was because we had used the "Master" title and we should be using no title (blank). I told her I didn't even believe this was an option when booking, because I would have selected it. However, I could not confirm this while on the phone with her. She insisted this was possible. She told me that they have no way of knowing whether he is on a watch list and could not tell me even if he was. This didn't make sense to me at all and I explained the logical flaws to her, but she stonewalled me.

I called back half an hour later, got a different lady, and I pretended the first call never happened. After 30 minutes on hold with her talking to her superior, she at least confirmed my suspicion, that he is on the "Canadian Watch List". I asked her if this would be the same as the Passenger Protect Program and she confirmed. She said she would forward the issue to WestJet corporate security, so I am waiting to hear from.

(note: I have omitted links so that this post does not require moderator approval)

I researched what other recourse we might have, but it seems pretty bleak. TravelWatchlist.ca referred me to The Office of Reconsideration. However, it states it is for "Individuals who have been denied boarding under the Passenger Protect Program and who have received an Emergency Direction". He has never been denied boarding (you can bet you would have heard of this story by now if he had). I called and emailed them anyway and am awaiting a response.

Right now, it's an inconvenience, but I imagine that unless we do something about this, this problem will stick with him for most of his life and will only get worse.

TravelWatchList.ca paints a bleak picture of the chances of success by following the official channels and, to be honest, I don't see an official channel for us to take. We could write our politicians, but there is an election right now and none of them will be listening. I'm tempted to go to the media, because I believe this is just a symptom of the increased "anti-terror" legislation in Canada. However, I mostly just want to give my son the best chance of getting rid of this dubious distinction.

Any help of what avenues to pursue would be appreciated. Thank you.