‘No quick fix’ to improve airport security screening

This story was updated on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 1 p.m.

Rising concerns over the arrival of drugs and alcohol in Nunavut through northern airports and mail routes are prompting officials to explore tighter screening, says Nunavut’s justice minister.

George Hickes, who also serves as minister of infrastructure and transportation, said the issue remains a priority for the territorial government following a recent tour of Yellowknife Airport with government and security officials.

“Society has changed. There are a heck of a lot more security concerns nowadays, especially with some of the illicit substances that are coming into our communities,” he told the Nunavut legislature during question period Tuesday.

Hickes was in Yellowknife on March 3 with federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, and senior officials from Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

They toured the airport with Northwest Territories government ministers Vince McKay and Jay Macdonald to review screening procedures and to discuss how illicit substances are reaching northern communities.

The group also planned to fly to Cambridge Bay, but the trip was cancelled due to a flight malfunction.

Anandasangaree said the visit highlighted security “loopholes” that must be addressed. That includes the fact that Yellowknife Airport does not require security checks before passengers board flights to smaller northern communities.

“There’s no quick fix,” he said in an interview.

In Nunavut, only Iqaluit International Airport is designated for mandatory screening by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority. That means passengers travelling between communities such as Rankin Inlet or Cambridge Bay are screened only when connecting through Iqaluit to southern hubs.

Anandasangaree also raised concerns about the use of Canada Post to transport contraband and illegal drugs into communities.

Last July, Cambridge Bay Mayor Wayne Gregory told Nunatsiaq News the lack of security screening on regional flights — such as those between Yellowknife and Cambridge Bay — is one way drugs enter the Kitikmeot Region.

Speaking after a violent drug-related assault in the community, Gregory said he had heard changes could be made to airport security. However, a spokesperson for the N.W.T. Department of Infrastructure told Nunatsiaq News they were unaware of any discussion about changes in security measures.

In the legislature Tuesday, Cambridge Bay MLA Fred Pedersen asked Hickes about the federal Bill C-2, which would allow Canada Post to open and inspect letters suspected of containing illegal substances.

Known as the Strong Borders Act, the bill remains at second reading in the House of Commons.

Hickes said the Nunavut government is reviewing the legislation for how it could strengthen mail screening in Nunavut.

Neither Hickes nor Anandasangaree provided a timeline for implementing new mail or passenger screening measures but they are “working on it diligently,” Hickes said.

Suzanne Perseo, a spokesperson for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, said the agency is not aware of any new passenger or cargo screening measures put in place following the tour of Yellowknife Airport.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify security screening for passengers travelling between communities in the North.