OTTAWA, June 18: Canada introduced a no-fly list on Monday to ground potential air passengers “who may pose an immediate threat to aviation security” and tried to play down concerns that the list could be abused.

Airlines will be obliged to check the names of passengers who appear to be 12 or over against the list, which was compiled using information from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as well as Canada’s counter-intelligence agency.

“Canadians need protection against terrorism. That’s the basic point,” said Allan Kagedan, chief of aviation security policy at Transport Canada.

Those named on the list can provide further identification and information in a bid to make their flight. If that fails, they can file an appeal with Transport Canada.

In the United States, officials say more than 31,000 innocent people are stopped each year because their names resemble those on watch lists. The victims have included babies and US lawmakers.

Kagedan told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the document was “a very, very narrow and specific list,” but didn’t say how many people were on it.

Critics fear the list may be abused and point to the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian software engineer whom US border agents deported to Syria in 2002 after the Mounties mistakenly identified him as an Islamic extremist.—Reuters