Jihadi tracking delay downplayed by Public Safety minister

The public safety minister is downplaying the Conservative government's failure to introduce a system designed to track potential terrorists who are joining overseas conflicts.

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The Canada-U.S. perimeter security pact includes a provision that would see Canada collect records related to people leaving the country on international flights.

The agreement set a deadline of June 30 of this year, but such a system is not yet in place, nor are the legislative and regulatory changes that would be required first.

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney insists Canada remains committed to tracking international travel, though he suggests the security pact is merely a road map rather than a set of firm deadlines.

Blaney says Canada continues to work with the United States to implement the pact, and he says the plan is on track.

But Blaney declined to say whether a new target date has been set for the data-gathering system.