Five hundred officers at Toronto’s Pearson International, Canada’s busiest airport, will receive sensitivity training to guarantee better treatment of Muslim and Arab passengers. Patrizia Giolti, spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) said, The CBSA constantly takes steps including outreach and training to ensure our services are not discriminatory or perceived to be discriminatory. The courses will take place from September to March 2009 to help officers effectively perform their enforcement responsibilities in a respectful manner, according to the CBSA. Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress has hailed the courses as an excellent idea. The courses are similar to the seminars and workshops his organisation has put together for federal employees in the past two years. Mohamed Boudjenane, executive director of the Canadian Arab Federation agrees, adding that That sort of proactive act, or measure, didn’t come out of the blue, but was the result of an intensive lobby.
