Canada has banned all air cargo from Yemen. Transport Minister Chuck Strahl made the announcement Monday. It comes in the wake of last week’s discovery of two U.S.-bound bombs sent in air cargo from Yemen.
Strahl said immediate restrictions were put on cargo out of Yemen as soon as the government learned of the bomb plot last Friday. All cargo from Yemen was set aside for secondary screening to ensure it was safe.
"I signed off since then on an interim order that will prevent air cargo from transferring from Yemen while we do an analysis of the situation,” Strahl told reporters in Ottawa.
"Of course governments around the world are reacting similarly and obviously we have some grave concerns over what happened on the weekend.”
There are no direct flights bringing cargo or passengers to Canada from Yemen and any cargo is screened in third countries. Strahl said the government is looking at that system to determine how it can be improved.
The announcement doesn't affect cargo heading to the U.S. from Canada.
"Cargo that’s heading down to the States right now of course is all screened in concert with our American counterparts. We have an agreement with them on how that’s handled and that seems to be working well,” Strahl said.
