No Fly List Kids · Federal Advocacy

Canada operates a “Passenger Protect” list, sometimes called the no-fly list, which flags travellers as security risks. The underlying matching system has historically used name-only comparisons, which produces high rates of false positives, including children. I was flagged on this list starting at around age five. My two brothers were also flagged. Hundreds of other Canadian children (most with common names like Adam Ahmed, Yusuf Ahmed, Sebastian Khan) have had similar experiences, often without their families understanding why.

The No Fly List Kids coalition was founded by Sulemaan Ahmed and Khadija Cajee in 2016 after their son Adam was flagged. I joined in 2017 as a teenager and have been an active member of the campaign since.

The campaign had two concrete asks of the federal government: (1) a redress system that lets affected travellers obtain a unique identifier to bypass the false match, and (2) sufficient funding and legislative authority to build it. Existing US redress systems (DHS TRIP) were the reference point; Canada needed an equivalent that worked at the airline check-in level rather than requiring travellers to re-prove their identity at every flight.

As one of the coalition's younger and more publicly visible members, my role was personal storytelling, media work, and direct engagement with decision-makers.

• Op-ed in the Toronto Star, “Grounded: What it's like to be a No Fly List kid,” written at 16. (Artifact link below.)
• Broadcast and print interviews on CTV News, HuffPost Canada, Middle East Eye, and other outlets, sharing what it is like to be flagged as a security risk at a young age and how the false-positive system shapes Canadians' everyday travel.
• Parliament Hill testimony and advocacy. Coalition members engaged directly with the Prime Minister's Office, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, Cabinet Ministers, and cross-party MPs across multiple Parliament Hill days.

Bill C-59 (National Security Act, 2017) passed in 2019 with explicit provisions to support a redress system. The 2018 federal budget allocated $81.4 million over five years for redress implementation, with $8 million in the first year. The coalition continues to monitor implementation and advocate for individuals still affected.

To be clear about credit: the coalition is collective work. Sulemaan Ahmed, Khadija Cajee, and many other families and members carried the campaign for years. My contribution was alongside theirs, not in place of them.