Coming from a naive Canadian's perspective, my understanding about the TSA's usage of WBIs is that they use backscatter x-ray technology and the health effects of said technology have yet to be fully understood. Canada, on the other hand, uses millimetre wave technology, which does not seem as penetrative as x-rays. Heath Canada has gone on the record saying that these scanners are safe to use (much akin to the US gov't about backscatter tech) but have there been any studies contradicting these findings?

Aside from the potential of function creep by the gov't, I'm not too concerned about people seeing my body naked (hell, I'd walk through naked no problem if they wanted me to :P). I am, however, more concerned about the potential health effects of the technology and its potential as a cancer-causing agent.

I would also be interested in knowing if there is as much resistance to WBIs in Canada as there is in the US. I don't recall there being a lot of uproar in the media except when it was first rolled out. Anyone come across any agents storing images and the like?

When traveling in Canada, I always opt out. They have no reason for virtually strip searching me without suspicion. You wouldn't do it for a police officer while you are strolling down the street would you?

In Canada selection for WBI is truly random, use is optional, the opt out pat down is usually professional and different from the 'new' TSA pat down, and CATSA is generally much more professional than TSA. Nor is WBI in use as much as in the US, and domestic and international flights do not follow all the TSA mandated rules for US bound flights.

Hence the reasons I suspect why it hasn't raised the same level of anger. Many of us have said it here - if TSA were at the same professional level as screeners in Europe or Asia most of the problems would not exist.

Yes. I pass through YVR a few times per year. You step on a pad and the arrow points one way or the other. I just missed the bad one the last time. The person in front of me stepped off and back on and got the bad arrow. But from everything I have observed, the process is a bit less dreadful.

I am so outraged. I could hardly sleep last night as I thought more about how disgusting it was to have a TSO stick his hand inside my pants on Friday night, followed by the run up the inside of my thigh. I hope I can avoid this on Saturday by using a different checkpoint to enter the secure area. Otherwise, I may be in the news myself because I am not setting foot in that machine and I am not letting a TSO do that again. Hell, I'll take off my pants and shirt and walk through the metal detector in just my shorts and socks. Of course, that wouldn't be good enough. Sick.

Is there as much resistance? YES ! But primarily from those who have had to fly into the US. CATSA acts differently depending on whether you are departing domestically, internationally or into the US.

As for the media and Canadian government, they have pulled their usual stunt and rolled over, cowered in the presence of the DHS/TSA and played dead. Heaven forbid they should say or do anything that might irritate the TSA.

The Canadian government has no idea the real clout we have to say enough is enough ... from the US Office of Tourism and Travel Industries website http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/mo...als/index.html

of the 33,789,168 visitors to the US year to date, 11,388,659 have been from Canada alone. That's one heck of a revenue source.

I have done 100+ domestic Canadian flights this year and have flown into and out of every major airport in that time. My experience in the US is much more limited, but I did come out of SFO just yesterday so I have some ability to compare.

Airports like YEG, YVR, YYZ all have the WBI machines, but I rarely have seen them in use on domestic flights. I think I've seen a total of 1 person being pulled aside in YEG for additional screening in my 30+ flights out of that airport this year. I've not seen them used in YVR, YYZ or YYC yet.

YHZ seems to be the exception. At the end of the security line they have the Dance-Dance-Revolution randomizer pad that points left or right. If you get right you go for additional screening. I've stood in line and tried to figure out the pattern and frequency and it does seem truly random in pattern, but the frequency works out to about 1 person selected for every 5 or 6 that go through. If you draw the lucky right arrow the CATSA employee says "Sir you've been selected for additional screening, please go to line 1."

I've been selected a number of times and once you're through the metal detector you are greeted with "Hi, you've been selected for additional screening and you have 2 options...." They carry on explaining the machine option and the opt out procedure. I have never not heard them make this explanation to me or the other travelers that have been selected. That alone is completely different than my SFO experience yesterday where I was just waved towards the WBI and had to stop and tell them that I wished to opt out.

I always take the opt out and without fail the procedures seems to be that the CATSA employee running the machine will raise his/her hand to get the attention of someone to send over someone to administer the pat down. This is unlike the TSO in SFO who yelled at the top of his lungs (complete with his hands cupped to amplify) "Male Opt-out Lane 1!"

Like the TSO who patted me down in SFO, the CATSA agents always ask me to explain why I chose to opt out. I've actually had some engaging conversations with them at this point. The one guy I have had pat me down a couple of times in YHZ has even gone so far as to say "If we wouldn't catch it with a pat down, the machine wouldn't catch it either so anyone who tells you they're better for security doesn't know much."

Overall, the demeanor of CATSA employees seems to be less abrasive, less condescending and more professional. That said there always are bad apples and I had one in YEG that had no idea how to read the x-ray screen and wouldn't back down on her assessment even after we completely emptied my laptop bag and didn't find what she claimed was in it (a lighter).

I live in Tallahassee, and my closest major non-US airport is YYZ, a mere 31-hour Greyhound ride away, which I'd be happy to do, especially if we wind up with nationwide mandatory nude-o-scopes, which, quite frankly, I see coming.

In Canada, if I'm at an airport with nude-o-scopes and get pointed towards one (either randomly or because I triggered the metal detector), can I opt-out? And if I do, will the pat-down be better than the genital groping I'd receive in the USA?

I'm getting mentally fired up by the TSA, seemingly getting worse by the day, and my "I'm not flying in the USA anymore" clock is around 2359 right now.

Thanks!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...is-canada.html

Plus several other threads if you do a search for 'Canada'

I'm sure a few of my fellow Canadians will also chime in ...

If you are flying domestically (inter-Canada) or internationally from YYZ (at least from terminal 1, which my experience is limited to), security is very, very straightforward (and you can keep your shoes on).

US departures follows TSA rules - "randomizer", according to CATSA, is set to 50/50 send people to NoS. The screener doesn't select, you step on the "lucky mat" and get pointed either left or right. left is bad, right is good.
Having had the left arrow three times this fall, the pat down is enhanced. One experience was a grope, two were professional.

A marked difference in TSA vs CATSA seems to be attitude. CATSA (in my experience) have been friendly, polite, informed and they will tell you you can go through the NoS or that you can opt-out.

My experience is similar to lostinthewash's.

I haven't been selected for the scanners for US bound flights so I can't comment on the opt out experience there.

Domestically the opt-out pat down is not quite the same as the one I experienced in SFO. It's not as intrusive (no waist band or collar checks that I remember).

By far the biggest difference is the interaction with the CATSA people. Almost 100% of the time I am referred to as sir. I've never heard one yelling yet (100+ domestic flights this year). Are they perfect? No. I got mildly annoyed at one XRay operator who insisted that I had a lighter in my laptop bag. She was willing to let me walk away, but I was tired and quite irritable that night so I challenged her on it. Her co-workers unloaded my bag and when they found nothing they sent me on my way and had a discussion with her about what they found and how to better spot things the next time.

The "lucky mat" (or dance-dance-revolution mat) seems to be random. I've had time in line on a couple occasions to see if I could notice a pattern. After 40-50 people there seemed to be none, but about 1 in 6 was getting sent to the scanner. As lostinthewash said, everyone is told of their option to opt out. If you choose to opt out, my experience is that there is no yelling, no incredulous look from the screener and no sense of animosity. In fact when I opted out the second time (same airport) the pat down person said "Hey I know you from before" and proceeded to indulge me in a fairly lengthy, polite and informed conversation about the process.

Overall I'd give my Canadian opt-out experiences a solid 4 out of 5.

---jeez the mods are working fast in here today....already merged and making me look like I want to talk about it twice as much as I really would