I saw this woman interviewed on the news last night. How those pompous twits could treat her the way they did is so completely beyond me I'm almost at a loss for words.
Airport apology for cancer survivor
By MICHAEL WOOD, QMI Agency
CALGARY - Apologies over the treatment of a humiliated 82-year-old B.C. cancer survivor are coming from air security officials in Ottawa even before an investigation into the matter wraps up.
The mea culpa is one Elizabeth Strecker accepts -- as long as others her age never endure the treatment to which she was subjected.
As Strecker told QMI Agency, she just wants "a little respect."
"They really can make an old person feel crummy," the frail-voiced Abbotsford, B.C. native said Friday.
Strecker, who lost a breast to cancer five years ago, said she was forced by a security detail on Jan. 4 to bare the gel prosthesis she wears in place of an implant, "touched everywhere and called a liar" -- a display which humiliated the elderly woman, reduced her to tears and left her wondering if she'll fly again.
Strecker has yet to lodge a formal complaint.
But an investigation led by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) -- the overseer which operates under the direction of Transport Canada and contracts security work to screeners across Canada, including Garda, employees of which are at the centre of the woman's miserable ordeal -- is already underway.
Officials in Ottawa confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and will act accordingly.
"What we want to do first of all is express our regret about the passenger screening experience -- obviously the passenger didn't have a pleasant experience," said CATSA spokesman Mathieu Larocque.
Strecker, fresh from Christmas holidays with family in Calgary, was flying back to her home in Abbotsford Jan. 4 when she was selected for further screening by security officials and told to go through the full body scanner.
The scan revealed her prosthesis, prompting a more thorough body search, during which a screener forced the woman to lift her frail right arm using her left -- something Strecker said is very painful for her -- and spread her legs, causing her to nearly stumble.
Strecker said she was mortified.
"I didn't really think I had to tell everyone I had breast cancer, I didn't think that was necessary," she said.
Strecker and her family have since been demanding an apology.
Larocque said Friday she'll get that and more.
"We want every passenger to be treated with respect and professionalism," he said.
CATSA trains screening officers to recognize "special situations" when they arise, including medical conditions which require discretion and sensitivity, Larocque said.
"And if corrective actions are needed, we will take corrective action," Larocque noted, suggesting further training or procedural changes may be in order.
As far as Strecker is concerned, it's a dandy idea.
"At least teach them how to handle people with a little courtesy," she said.
"They don't have to feel sorry for me, I just want a little courtesy."
Strecker's tale of security terror has reverberated through Ottawa, prompting calls for review from Transport Minister Chuck Strahl and offers from Conservative MP Ed Fast to help the woman pen a formal complaint.
"I didn't expect all that," Strecker said.
Passenger screeners at Calgary International Airport are employed by a subsidiary of Garda, an international security an investigative services powerhouse, which was awarded the contract in 2006.
Repeated calls to its Calgary office were not returned Friday.
