About a year ago, while at an airport in Detroit, Canadian Cabinet minister Navdeep Bains found himself in a situation he had never experienced before.
The country's minister of innovation, science and economic development said in a televised interview Thursday that he was repeatedly asked by airport security agents to remove his turban -- even after he had passed through security and was at his departure gate. Bains, a devout Sikh, said he was only allowed to fly after he showed the agents his diplomatic passport.
"I felt very awkward," he said. "It's not something that I expected. I've traveled to the U.S. on many occasions."
In Sikhism, wearing a turban is "considered one of the most dutiful acts for a person of the faith," Bains said.
After the incident, Bains said Canadian officials contacted the U.S. government, and received an apology, according to La Presse, a French-language news site.
While Bains said he accepted the apology, he decided to go public with his story to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion.
The incident happened in April 2017 when he was traveling through Detroit Metro Airport on his way back to Canada. He had attended an event in Michigan where officials had discussed "strengthening Canada-U.S. relations," he said.
Bains said he cleared the metal detectors without any issue, but was then subjected to additional security measures because of his turban, according to CNN.
Bains said his screening process hit a bump when "there was some challenge and issue with the swab machine." Swabs are taken to see if a person has come into contact with explosive materials, according to Fox News. The samples are run through a machine that tests for bomb or explosive residue or traces of drugs. When the machine emitted a warning sound, the officer asked Bains to remove his turban as part of a secondary search.
"I told him it was the machine that was not working well," he told La Presse.
A second test revealed Bains' turban to be free of any prohibited substances.
But after arriving at his gate, Bains said another TSA agent approached him and requested that he return to the security check point and his remove his turban, saying proper security protocol had not been followed. It was then finally that Bains showed them his diplomatic passport.
"Ultimately I was allowed to fly, but it was because of who I was, and that should not be the case," he said.
The TSA released a statement addressing the incident, CNN reported.
"We regret the screening experience did not meet the expectations of Mr. Bains," TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy said in the statement. "Upon review of airport closed-circuit video, we determined that the officer conducting the screening did not follow standard operating procedures and therefore received additional training."
A Section on 05/12/2018