A US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer (right) swabs a passengers' (left) hands to check for explosive residue in a security line on Nov. 24 at La Guardia Airport in New York on what is considered the heaviest travel day of the year in the U.S. Photograph by: Stan Honda , AFP/Getty Images

OTTAWA — Air passengers in Canada could soon confront armed airport border guards after having already cleared a full-body pat-down in a separate screening room.

Federal authorities say they are considering arming the airport border guards who greet travellers arriving on international flights.

The Canada Border Service Agency wants to review the risks faced by frontline, uniformed guards at major airports, "and the threat of bodily harm or death to them or to travellers in the area," says a request for proposals posted Tuesday for an independent study of the issue.

The news comes as the agency in charge of screening passengers is hastily setting up private stalls at airports to conduct physical pat downs in an urgent effort to prevent a U.S. consumer backlash from spreading north.

The phrase "don't touch my junk" has become the rallying cry for irate air travellers in the U.S. In Canada, pat-downs are used if passengers opt out of full-body scans as part of secondary screening.

The CBSA began arming its 4,800 land border and marine port guards and inland enforcement officers in August 2007.

Airport guards, who inspect international passengers for customs, tax and immigration compliance, were excluded because CBSA believed the presence of police in air terminals and prior security screening of the arriving passengers countered any need for guns.

But based on "feedback received from employees and management," that reasoning is now being reassessed, "with a view to determining whether . . . (they) should carry firearms," says the call for proposals.

"Officers sometimes find themselves in situations where they must deal with aggressive behaviour on the part of the public," it explains. "This behaviour may include anything from threatening gestures during primary questioning to an unproved assault.

"There is a public expectation that they will have the training and tools necessary to safely carry out their mandate."

On screening booths, federal Transport Minister Chuck Strahl said Wednesday the department directed the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority earlier this week to set up booths so pat-downs can be carried out behind a curtain at the security checkpoint.

"We're going to put those privacy screens in place and that's going to help with on the spot privacy," Strahl told reporters on Parliament Hill.

The minister also assured air travellers in Canada there is no intention to initiate the type of "provocative" pat-downs carried out in the U.S.

"Canadians obviously have a right to expect to be treated properly and respectfully at airports, and CATSA has an obligation to do that," said Strahl.

"But I can also confirm that while the Americans have instituted a more intensive, if you can call it that, pat-down technique, that's not happening in Canada. CATSA's not doing that. They have no intention of doing that. It's a completely separate system. So what you're seeing on YouTube is American examples of, you know, a pretty provocative type of pat-down that doesn't exist in Canada."

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff also weighed in on the pat-down controversy Wednesday to defend airport screeners.