A federal cabinet minister says he was subjected to a zealous security check at a U.S. airport last year, prompting Justin Trudeau's government to follow up with the Trump administration. 
 
 Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains said he was flying through the Detroit Metro Airport on his way back to Toronto with his Canadian passport following an economic summit with the Michigan governor back in April 2017. 
 
 Bains told the French-language newspaper La Presse that he had already passed through the airport's regular security checks, including a metal detector, when he was asked to do further tests. 
 
 He said the agent struggled with the swab test, read a false positive and then asked him to remove his turban. 
 
 Bains said he tried to stay calm and asked the agent if there was another option. In the Sikh religion, the turban is a mandatory piece of clothing. 
 
 "I will never be asked to take off my clothes. It's the same thing. It's a piece of linen," he said. 
 
 Another request to remove turban 
 
 He said the agent agreed to perform another test, which he passed, and he was allowed to continue to his boarding gate. 
 
 But then he alleges a security agent tracked him down at his gate, 20 minutes before takeoff, and said protocol hadn't been followed and he'd have to go back to security and remove his turban. 
 
 Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains spoke to reporters in Toronto on Thursday 1:12 
 
 That's when Bains said he flashed his diplomatic passport — and the agent backed off. 
 
 "I'm about to embark and you tell me to take off my turban. But, by knowing my diplomatic status, you tell me that everything is correct? This is not a satisfactory answer," he told La Presse. 
 
 Complaints to U.S. agencies 
 
 Bains said when he travels he doesn't like to reveal his cabinet position because he wants to see how things play out for people who aren't ministers or lawmakers. 
 
 He said the experience was unsettling and described the security agents as "very insistent and very difficult." 
 
 "It was very frustrating. It was unnecessary ... I felt very awkward," he told reporters in Toronto Thursday. 
 
 Bains said security is important but the incident "speaks to discrimination and discrimination happens with many people, and I'm in a very fortunate position to talk about it." 
 
 Bains's office said Global Affairs Canada reached out to U.S. officials and the undersecretaries for the Homeland Security and Transportation departments apologized verbally. 
 
 "I thought that was important for us to support Minister Bains, and frankly to support all Canadians travelling across the border," said Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. 
 
 "It was a conversation among officials." 
 
 Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland weighs in on the trouble Minister of Innovation Navdeep Bains experienced while crossing the U.S. border. 0:35 
 
 In a statement to CBC, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration said it reviewed closed-circuit video of the incident and determined the officer didn't follow standard operating procedures; the officer subsequently received additional training. 
 
 "We regret the screening experience did not meet the expectations of Mr. Bains," said Michael McCarthy. 
 
 "All persons wearing head coverings may be subject to additional security screening, which may include an officer-conducted or self-conducted pat-down. TSA does this to ensure that prohibited items or weapons are not concealed beneath any type of clothing and brought onto an aircraft. This policy covers all headwear and is not directed at any one particular item or group." 
 
 Bains said, for a Sikh, wearing a turban is considered "one of the most dutiful acts for a person of the faith and I am proud to represent my community." 
 
 U.S. needs to improve standards: Goodale 
 
 He said he's accepted the U.S. officials' apology. 
 
 "When possible, passengers may remove non-formfitting headwear before proceeding through the security checkpoint. We recognize that passengers may be unable or unwilling to remove items for religious, medical, or other reasons, and should expect to undergo additional screening protocols." 
 
 Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who oversees border control on the Canadian side, said the U.S. needs to improve its standards. 
 
 "It's an unsettling incident and it's one that obviously the government of Canada wanted to draw to the attention of the U.S. administration, to demonstrate something that sometimes happens that should not happen," Goodale told reporters. 

 CLOSE The U.S. is issuing an apology after a member of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet was asked to remove his turban by TSA agents. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the story. Buzz60 
 
 Navdeep Bains, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, is pictured speaking in Seattle at a news conference announcing the partnership between Harbour Air and Kenmore Air. (Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP Images) 
 
 President Trump administration officials apologized to a Canadian cabinet minister after an airport security agent asked him to remove his turban during a security check at Detroit Metro Airport while he was on his way back to Canada last year. 
 
 Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains, who is a Sikh and for who wearing a turban is mandatory in his religion, said he was repeatedly asked to take his turban off and it was only when security agents realized who he was that they allowed him to travel. 
 
 In the end, Bains did not remove his turban. 
 
 "I was very frustrated and disappointed that this occurred but ultimately I was allowed to fly,” Bains said, in comments delivered to a Group of Seven women's forum in Toronto on Thursday. "But it was because of who I was and that should not be the case. It doesn’t matter what your status is and what your position is." 
 
 Bains said he recounted his experience to Canada’s foreign minister Chrystia Freeland who then complained to senior U.S. transportation officials. Bains said the U.S. officials expressed regret and apologized and he has accepted the apology. 
 
 Mike England, a spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, said closed-circuit video showed that the officer conducting the screening did not follow standard operating procedures and has received additional training. 
 
 But England said security agents do have the right to search headwear. 
 
 "All persons wearing head coverings may be subject to additional security screening, which may include an officer-conducted or self-conducted pat-down. TSA does this to ensure that prohibited items or weapons are not concealed beneath any type of clothing and brought onto an aircraft. This policy covers all headwear and is not directed at any one particular item or group," he said. 
 
 "We recognize that passengers may be unable or unwilling to remove items for religious, medical, or other reasons, and should expect to undergo additional screening protocols." 
 
 Bains said it’s the first time he’s been asked to take his turban off while traveling in the U.S. 
 
 More: TSA Precheck additions: Porter Air, Condor and SAS among new airlines 
 
 Related: Years after Osama bin Laden's death, we're keeping you safe, TSA says 
 
 Contributing: Associated Press 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2ryWMaw 

 
 
 CTVNews.ca Staff 
 
 
 
 
 
 Federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says he has accepted an apology from U.S. officials after he was asked by airport security in Detroit to remove his turban. 
 
 Bains, who is Sikh, says that wearing a turban is “one of the most dutiful acts for a person of the faith,” and that being told to take it off was “frustrating” and “awkward.” 
 
 He told reporters in Toronto on Thursday that he had made it to the gate while boarding his flight in April, 2017 when he was asked to remove the turban. He did not comply. 
 
 Bains had already gone through additional security screen, as per U.S. policy that allows Sikhs to keep their turbans on during airport checks. 
 
 “Once they realized my position, who I was, I was ultimately allowed to fly,” Bains said. 
 
 “But for me, this is an issue that I think speaks to discrimination, and discrimination happens to many people,” he added. “I’m in a very fortunate position to talk about it.” 
 
 “I understand how important security is,” Bains said, “but proper process needs to be followed.” 
 
 Bains added that he has travelled to the U.S. and internationally many times and had never before been asked to remove his turban. 
 
 While Bains, as a member of federal cabinet, carries a special diplomatic passport, his office said he did not use his status or show the passport until he was asked by a supervisor to confirm his identity. 
 
 Following the incident, Foreign Affairs officials spoke with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration. It was concluded that the way security officials acted towards Bains was against protocol, and the Americans have apologized, according to Bains’ office. 
 
 Has happened to Sajjan in Canada 
 
 On CTV’s Power Play, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he has also experienced similar encounters at airports, including in Canada. 
 
 "I've actually had it in Canada," Sajjan said, noting it’s not an issue exclusive to the U.S., and that he’s gone through the U.S. system smoothly. 
 
 "We have a position and a title right now, but it shouldn’t be that you need a title to have answers or to be treated in a certain way. All Canadians should have been given the same respect," he said. 
 
 Transport Minister Marc Garneau was asked about similar incidents happening in Canada and said that they "make sure" that Canadian airport security officials "respect the rules that apply in the case of turbans, but at the same time, take care of ensuring that security is covered." 
 
 With a report from CTV News’ Michel Boyer
– The Trump administration has apologized to a Canadian cabinet minister who was repeatedly asked to remove his turban at a Detroit airport. Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Navdeep Bains, who's religiously obligated to wear a turban as a Sikh, publicly discussed the April 2017 incident on Thursday, saying the incident at Detroit Metro Airport following a meeting with the Michigan governor highlights the "discrimination" some travelers encounter, per the CBC. Bain's trip took a turn when he was asked to undergo additional security tests. After reading a false positive from a swab, an agent asked Bains to remove his turban, but allowed him to continue to his gate after an alternative check, the minister says. Twenty minutes before his flight home, however, Bains says an agent appeared, saying protocol required that he return to security to remove his turban. The scene ended with Bains flashing his diplomatic passport. But "it was because of who I was [that I was allowed to fly] and that should not be the case," he says, per USA Today. "It doesn't matter what your status is and what your position is." Though "very frustrated and disappointed," Bains says he's accepted verbal apologies offered by the Homeland Security and Transportation undersecretaries, per the CBC. Still, "discrimination happens with many people, and I'm in a very fortunate position to talk about it," he says. Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, also a Sikh, has since acknowledged similar encounters at airports, including in Canada, per CTV News. While a TSA rep admits the agent screening Bains didn't follow procedure, he notes all headwear may be checked for "prohibited items or weapons" in a policy "not directed at any one particular item or group."