I said earlier in this thread that this incident and the following comments represents to me why we are still not much further along in changing things and most importantly changing the majority viewpoints towards what TSA is doing (in the US and outside of the US)

We have people who don't see an issue with dropping their pants and removing their tops; people who would rather just follow direction and be scanned rather than impact their vacation in any way; people who have no idea of their rights; people who are intimidated by those in authority; people who don't understand the basics of airport security, etc etc. (And this is just in this thread, and not just the OP)

'Naked guy climbing into the trunk of his car' had a significant impact on the public opinion of privacy rights and specifically on Google Streetview in Germany. I keep waiting for the equivalent version in regards to the TSA. How many times to we need to see or read such stories before people start questioning things? It seems like every time such a story comes out, there is a little brouhaha, but the majority still seems to think 'everything for safety', and 'it doesn't impact me because I don't fly much'.

I may be naive, but I keep hoping that one day soon 'older woman drops pants and removes blouse' will be the equivalent of 'naked guy climbing into trunk of his car'. I can only hope.

I frankly don't think that it is a language issue; I too am willing to converse in French if required but the board rules I think don't approve of that.

I think that you fail to understand.

There is no 'policy change' to make scans random 'now' in Canada. They were never mandatory, nor required of every traveller.

And CATSA does the screening in Canada. Yes, TSA influences what happens in other countries, but when you fly to the US it is CATSA screening you at your Canadian airport.

In all honesty.. I would have a problem being strip searched physically.. and I would be embarassed.. and so would most people that I know..

I agree TSA has jumped the gun implementing measures that really doesn't counteract the terrorism threat.. instead the are making law abiding citizens suffer for the few troublemakers that they seemed to be after.

I think TSA is starting to get the picture and feedback.. Obama administration is looking to cut.. so hopefully, its these unnecessary measures that don't add up to any measureable increase in safety.. really just inconvenience and harassment on some part seen by the public..

So how is a nude-o-scan determined in Canada?

The fact that it remains.. randomly.. or sequentially.. or any.. is a virtual strip search waiting to happen.. at the hands of the TSA.

Again, I may fail to understand.. that is correct.. and I stand corrected..

AFAIK.. these machines are operating everyday in our Canadian airports whether we want to acknowledge it or not..

Frankly.. again.. I don't care about these machines.. I just want to go to the US where we can vacation.. and if they tell us to nude-o-scan, and however embarassing it is.. we shall do the nude-o-scan.. I guess..

We can fight it as you say.. and take a stand.. I rather stand in the lines at WDW.. or a Hawaii restaurant.. or a theme park in SoCal.. spending valuable family time with my wife, 1 year old and 5 year old..

I give up. It's clear that Mimi and I apparently have English language issues as we do not seem to be able to communicate the facts.

As the entire CATSA and screening in Canada discussion is off topic to the OP's situation, I apologise for participating in the off topic discussion, and hope that we can return to the orginal topic of being forced to remove clothing for TSA screening.

There are any number of threads here discussing the CATSA screening methods and how they vary for US bound, domestic, and international travellers, should someone be seeking that information.

At the risk of confusing further, I think Ancien Maestro is talking about TSA in US airports subjecting Canadian citizens to either the nude-o-scope or patdown, while you and Mimi are talking about CATSA policies at Canadian airports.

Or maybe not. But that's how I read it. :)

i originally thought that as well and started to post a response to that effect but that would also be an incorrect assertion. So either way....

I'm giving up on this one as well. Don't want to derail the OP's post any further. ;)

There are forum members whose opinions I disagree with but whose word carries a lot of credibility with me in spite of those disagreements. Had one of them made this claim, I would PM them to get this matter addressed.

This may have happened as described. But I'm still skeptical and think the lot of you have been baited hook, line and sinker.

For the record, there is nothing in the screening SOP that warrants for anyone to remove clothing with the exception of outer wear such as sweaters, jackets, coats, etc. provided that the individual has other clothing underneath such as a blouse or similar appropriate attire. If any TSO instructs you to remove clothing such as a blouse or pants, DEMAND to see the supervisor and/or your airline representative immediately.

Perhaps I've been jaded by the nature of many comments made in this forum which are filled with hyperbole and exaggeration that IF one legitimate claim is made that I am prone to not believe it. And I find it extremely difficult that any checkpoint supervisor would allow such a thing to occur. However, the SOP has pretty specific language, so I'm prone to remain skeptical that this event ever occurred.

That's my two cents.

So in other words you are still calling the OP a lier?

I have a great money-making offer for you. Hell, if you're so willing to believe a complete stranger's comments posted on the internet for one thing, I might as well take advantage of that right now and cash in, right?

:D

I concur; I have been selected for the nude-o-scope en route from YYZ to I think LAX and was immediately given the option of either the scan or a pat down. There was a line up for the pat down, so I decided to get radiated. It's of course all ridiculous, and does nothing to make the skies safer. If they'd stop being so paranoid about being labelled as "profilers" etc and start looking for suspect behaviour instead things would work much better.

I am a stranger to you as you are to me and we are both commenting on the internet. I would rather that our default mode be trust rather than distrust, or at lease ambivalence.

I agreed with you earlier that I had questions concerning the story awaiting more details. We now have more details and the preponderance of the evidence is leaning toward the truthfulness of the OP.

I may be naive, but I prefer to assume that people tell the truth until the evidence convinces me that they are not truthful. I would rather be disappointed in the honestly of others on occasion than to live my life in distrust of everyone in which I come in contact.

Your default mode may be universal distrust as it is an important consideration in your job that everyone in which you come in contact must be considered untrustworthy to do your job under the current SOP. I understand that and I do not disparage it. I would also hope that you would learn that once the screening is complete you would realize that the vast majority of people are not being dishonest as a matter of course.

Now is probably as good as anytime for the OP to become aware of the fact that, if it wasn't on YouTube, it didn't happen. If she follows through on this, her experience in this thread will certainly not be the last time her word is called into question.

On the other hand, she will at least take away the knowledge that what happened in the room was not captured on a/v and that the people who did it to her were not law enforcement officers. Those are important pieces of information, not only for her, but for any traveler reading this thread.

As I said earlier, a lot of my skepticism comes from the nature of the comments made by forum members. But there's another reason: I cannot believe that something this outrageous could have occurred without it being reported or rumored. Because if it happened so "routinely" once, then it was likely to happen again. And if it happened again, then someone other than the OP would have most likely reacted the way other forum members have that this would have made it to the press or the internet.

The TSA "Rumornet" is pretty robust. Word gets around. Not only that, but TSA is pretty quick to issue clarification once it gets wind of an improper procedure. It's no different than the Army adage, "One person craps his pants and the whole division has to wear diapers." There simply isn't anything out on something like this happening at any TSA checkpoint. Not that this Rumornet is 100% reliable, but there's not even a peep.

So I still remain skeptical until I receive more substantial information from sources I trust.

I would like to respond by indicating, generally speaking, those of the Travelling public who are paying attention are also seriously jaded by the multiple and ongoing factual based instances of TSOs stepping far outside the bounds of their SOP, whether to complete their interpretation of their duties or to complete clearly illegal acts against said traveling public. Regardless, my truth meter is stretched where I am forced to take the wildest of accusations and believe that the skybcan indeed turn colors, because many of those instances previously have been proved to be correct.

You seem like a good guy, and I applaud that. Unfortunately too many of your brethren have PROVEN to be lying, cheating, manipulating power hungry scum that doesn't deserve their paycheck or the opportunity to interface with the traveling public. We all have and are entitled to our perspective based on our experiences, but the shared ones are really running against you and your organization.