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Information on COPA Flight 8 in Ottawa

I apologize to those looking for information on COPA's Flight 8 in Ottawa. A couple of years ago I resigned as Captain of Flight, but no one stepped forward to take on the job. I had been involved in the Flight for most of the last 20 years.

Folks looking for information on the Flight are welcome to contact me. I also note that our website, http://web.ncf.ca/fn352/flight8/ is still actively maintained by Adam Hunt. As well this blog is maintained by myself, but mostly Adam Hunt.

The information below was copied from COPA National's website today. Unfortunately COPA National has an incorrect website for Flight 8. The meeting information, while formerly correct, is no longer valid.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely, Mike Shaw
airmail@rogers.com

OTTAWA - COPA FLIGHT #8

Since:

1967

Address:

4 - 5620 Rockdale Rd, Vars, ON,K1C 1H7

Contact:

Name : Michael Shaw
Phone : 613-824-7145
Email : airmail@rogers.com

Website:

http://mikegail.com (incorrect)

Meetings:

4th Wednesday of each month except July, August and December. Locations vary, but frequently we meet at the Ottawa Flying Club. Check website for details.

Last updated:

2017-04-10 17:09:08

Sorce. https://www.copanational.org/en/copa-flights/

Canadian Pilots Invitation at Oshkosh 2016

The new COPA Flight — Coming up next!

By Bernard Gervais, COPA President & CEO

The last COPA Flight in newsprint format. The July issue of COPA Flight will be a full colour magazine format, our first in collaboration with our partner Canadian Aviator Publishing (CAP). Why change? To save a whole lot of money and allocate the membership dues on aviation services, not printing. We are not in the newspaper business and believe it or not, printing on newspaper costs almost double than printing a magazine. When we switched from magazine to newsprint many years ago, it was to save on printing costs of those days. How ironic.

As we move along, this outsourcing deal will leverage CAP's experience of just-in-time aviation news delivery, improving your online experience on the website and complemented by a regular newsletter. Rest assured COPA Flight will be a different publication than the well-respected Canadian Aviator. It will still be the association's magazine and COPA will maintain editorial control and content management. COPA Flight will still be COPA Flight. But in a better, revamped, more pertinent format with perhaps a few surprises once in a while. You will like it as much as we are excited to see these changes. But don't just take my word for it. See you next month in a glossy colour magazine.

Canadian Beacon Registry Verifier (CBRV)

By Patrick Gilligan, Vice President, Operations, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association

The Canadian Beacon Registry (CBR) ran a pilot project in 2012 which sent users of registered 406 MHz beacons an email when the self-test of their beacons were detected. The pilot project was a resounding success, with the general aviation and small operator communities in particular, as it demonstrated the value of registering 406 Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs). Unfortunately that pilot project was suspended later that year when the CBR database was reengineered.

Since 2012 and on every occasion, COPA has been reminding the Canadian Beacon Registry authorities to re-introduce this email tool. Recently during my presentation at SARScene 2015, I had a slide on suggestions to improve the ELT image amongst pilots, one of which was an “End to End” email testing of 406 ELTs. I was later approached by CBR staff informing me of the soon to be re-launch of this email tool.

External links

• Patrick Gilligan's article describing tests of the CBRV tool
• ELT 406 Verifier tool

GPS failure – the need for data

By Al Hepburn, Captain, COPA Flight 178 Pembroke

There can be no doubt that the introduction of GPS has been a game changer in the world of general aviation. In this article, we’ll look at the effect it has had, and is about to have on the General Aviation IFR Owner/Pilot.

The Air Traffic Control system has evolved over the years to the point that most pilots seldom use the so-called "Traditional Aids." A brief glance at the Canadian LO 6 en route chart (the one covering the Windsor to Quebec City corridor) will show the impact this has had on en route IFR navigation.

All the airways at the heart of this corridor have disappeared, and have been replaced with the so-called "Tango Routes," based on RNAV waypoints. Traditional navaids and airways are

being decommissioned at a fairly rapid pace. In the more remote areas of the country, many pilots would hesitate to fly without GPS, as the only alternative is NDB navigation, and flying NDB approaches is a dying art.

Many aircraft now flying in southern Canada no longer carry ADF, so are effectively excluded from IFR flight in areas where an ADF is the only practical backup. Nor do they carry DME, which is also required to fly just about all VOR approaches.

All this means that traditional navaids are becoming an anachronism, and the service provider, NavCanada, is quite rightly keen to decommission as many of these navaids as possible, particularly VORs, which are expensive to install and maintain.

Before we go too far down the decommissioning road, however, it is appropriate to ask the question "What happens if GPS fails?" The answer, in a nutshell, is "You revert to using Traditional Aids, or fly VFR." That then begs the question "How often is there likely to be a loss of GPS position information in IFR use, and how long will the outages last?" You would think the answer to these questions would be readily available, but this does not seem to be the case.

Transport Canada has had a "GPS Anomaly Report" form since 1997, but its existence is not well known. To date, it has only received 35 entries.

To get some kind of handle on pilots’ real world experience, COPA, in co-operation with AOPA, recently conducted an on-line survey. This evoked 513 responses over a period of a few days.

The author’s personal experience indicates that, if anything, the incidence of GPS failure events is increasing. In a recent two-week period, I flew on two occasions, and saw the dreaded "GPS Signal Loss" screen both times. The failures were at different locations, on different aircraft, and using different (Garmin) equipment. Both failures lasted a few minutes. On neither occasion was there a NOTAM relating to possible GPS failure.From a technical point of view, the GPS signal is susceptible to jamming, since it uses a single frequency, and is extremely weak. By the way, you can already buy jammers on the internet, the "best" of which is reported to have a ten-mile range. Truckers buy them, so the boss can’t monitor where they are!

So, how robust will the Traditional Aids backup system be? This will clearly depend on the frequency and duration of the loss of signal threat. If outages are very brief, they will have little effect on air navigation.

Longer outages (say of a few minutes or more) would force you to revert to Traditional Aids navigation, and it’s here that the architecture of the Traditional Aids backup system becomes a key concern. The COPA/AOPA survey indicated that there were a surprising number of such failures. Thus, it is of critical importance to have a statistically significant volume of data on GPS failures before the Traditional Aids structure is significantly reduced. COPA will recommend to Nav Canada that a web-based tool be added to the AWWS website to facilitate this, but in the meantime, please take the time to fill out and submit that "GPS Anomaly Report."

Note that the intent is to have one report per event, not one to cover the totality of your experience since you started using GPS. Make it very clear when the event was reported using IFR approved equipment, since only these events are directly relevant to IFR operations. In view of the suspected dynamic nature of GPS failures, it is recommended that you concentrate on data not more than a couple of years old. You should send the form to service@navcanada.ca.

Alan Hepburn: Has flown IFR for 43 years and flying GNSS IFR since 2002, flight instructor, and representing COPA in discussion on future IFR requirements.

External links

• COPA/AOPA GPS Failure survey results
• GPS Problem Reporting Form

Have you seen this Cessna 172?

From COPA HQ

Keep your eyes open for a red and white C-172F, registered C-FSQK.

It was stolen from a fellow COPA member on 16 September 2015, at Mascouche Airport (CSK3) Québec.

If you see it, please call your local police department.

COPA/AOPA Survey on GPS Failure

By Patrick Gilligan, VP, Operations, COPA National

The Federal Aviation Administration and Nav Canada are transitioning to a satellite based navigation system and have begun decommissioning the bulk of ground based navigational aids. Many pilots have already transitioned to GPS as their primary navigation method. This survey’s goal is to receive pilot feedback on how the GPS system is performing.

The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association and the US-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) are launching a survey to gauge the amount of GPS interference and number of outages pilots flying in both countries have experienced.

The survey comes at a time when more satellite-based instrument approaches are being created and ground-based approaches are being taken offline. As Nav Canada and the US FAA prepares to switch to a satellite-based NextGen air traffic control system, the two associations want to ensure that the new system has the capabilities that general aviation pilots need and that it is as resistant as possible to interference and outages.

The anonymous survey, which will be available until 15 November 2015, asks pilots about the location and type of flying they do, if and how pilots use IFR-certified GPS units, and the nature of any GPS interference or outages experienced and how that affected the flight, among other questions. The survey provides an opportunity for pilots to fill in their personal information to receive more information, but the fields are not mandatory to complete the survey.

The two organizations will use the survey data to advocate on behalf of pilots.

Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.

External links

• Take the COPA/AOPA Survey on GPS Failure

COPA Announces New President & CEO

By Trekker Armstrong, Chairman, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association

June 15, 2015

COPA’s Board of Directors today announced that Mr. Bernard Gervais has been appointed as the next President and CEO of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. He will officially begin his term on July 1st, 2015.

The Succession Committee of the COPA Board, went through a structured and disciplined recruitment process and was fortunate to have attracted numerous qualified applicants. We wish to thank and acknowledge those applicants who sought to contribute to the success of the Association.

Mr. Gervais is the Past Chairman of the Board of the APBQ (The Quebec Aviators and Bush Pilots Association) and is an outspoken advocate for personal aviation. He has actively collaborated with Transport Canada, NAV CANADA and Community stakeholders on numerous cases. Mr. Gervais has been instrumental in organizing air rallies and provincial air tours to promote general aviation and flight safety. He holds a Private Pilot’s license with a Night and Seaplane endorsement. He flies a 2008 Maule MX-7 on wheels, floats and skis.

As President and CEO, Mr. Gervais’ duties and responsibilities are wide ranging. Mr. Gervais will be responsible for providing valuable membership services, contributing to the corporate strategy and business plan, leading and integrating corporate goals and deliverables, while influencing government bodies. He will be the liaison and primary contact person for entities such as Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, other Canadian Aviation Associations, AOPA and EAA, as well as US and Canadian border agencies. Mr. Gervais will work with the COPA Board regarding corporate governance, while leading and managing a small team of dedicated professionals at COPA's national office in Ottawa.

Mr. Gervais will attend COPA’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday, June the 20 th at St. Andrews Airport (CYAV) in Manitoba. He welcomes the opportunity to meet with COPA members and with others in the broader aviation community.

External links

• Video address by Mr. Gervais
• Official announcement
• Article on AVweb

COPA Annual General Meeting Coming Up

By COPA HQ

Join COPA in Winnipeg on 20 June 2015, at our Annual General Meeting. A host of activities are planned in connection with the COPA business session. Friday evening there will be a barbeque meet and greet at Lyncrest Airport and participants will be able to take part in a progressive fly-out dinner on Saturday. Tours are being arranged to visit Nav Canada's Area Control Centre, CYAV Tower, Canadian Propeller, AeroRecip,the Western Canada Aviation Museum, the Museum for Human Rights and the Polar Bear Exhibit at the Winnipeg Zoo.

For more information and to register visit www.copawinnipeg2015.ca.

See you in Winnipeg!

COPA at AirVenture Oshkosh 2015

From COPA National HQ

This is COPA's first official invitation to all Canadian Pilots at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and is brought to you by AIG and the Magnes Group. Refreshing root beer floats will be offered to satisfy your thirst after your full day of gawking at aviation's finest and newest products.

Prizes will be raffled off with the grandpPrize of an iPAD Mini 64gb and a one year subscription to ForeFlight Canada going to one lucky winner.

Special guests are being invited and hopefully will come speak to our crowd of Canadian aviators. Don't miss out! Mark your calendar! Attend COPA's "All Canadian Pilots Reception 2015" (spouses and friends are also invited).

See you Tuesday 21 July 2015, between 1730 hrs and 1930 hrs, under the Partner Resource Center tent on the north side of the Exhibit Hangar A.

External links

• The COPA draw form

Urgent Action: Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory (CARAC) developments

By Trekker Armstrong, Executive Chair, COPA

CARAC was established in 1993, and is a joint undertaking of the government and the aviation community, with participation from a large number of organizations outside Transport Canada with the intent of representing the overall viewpoint of the aviation community. COPA has been an active participant in these Focus Groups.

Transport Canada’s recent Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA #2013-014) on aerodromes does not reflect accurately the efforts of the Focus Group and will materially damage COPA’s hard work and progress. As written, the NPA would cater to opponents and discriminate against the interests of the aviation enthusiast. The NPA has potential to significantly impact recreational aviation in general, and private owners and operators, in particular.

Transport Canada now wants to move from a permissive environment to what they call “participatory decision making” to ensure that local land use authorities and the public have input and indeed a greater say in whether or not an aerodrome can be established and developed. Furthermore this is also being extended to non-certified new and existing aerodromes. COPA provided direct input on the extent of damage this initiative will cause. COPA’s response can be found on COPA’s National website.

Given the far-reaching potential of this initiative, the industry responded with an unprecedented amount of feedback calling for a Focus Group meeting which finally occurred in June 2014. COPA was in attendance.

In October 2014, COPA, along with other participants of the Focus Group, was completely surprised that an amendment to the Aeronautical Act was hidden as part of the Federal Government’s omnibus budget Bill C-43. None of the participants of the Focus Group had knowledge of this development, or it’s content. Had the Focus Group known that the initiative extended as far as the Act amendment proposes, there would have been considerably different discussions about the implications of the expanded applicability. Given that there was no discussion or consultation with industry about the Act amendment itself and the scope of the application, the Act amendment should have be pulled from Bill C-43 to permit a thorough discussion with the industry.

COPA submitted a brief to the House Standing Committee on Finance and appeared before the Senate Committee on Wednesday, 19 November 2014. At that time COPA’s President & CEO Kevin Psutka asked the House Standing Committee on Transport and the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications to vote in favor of returning the amendment to Transport Canada for consultation with the aviation industry.

Regardless of COPA’s and other industry efforts, Bill C-43 received Royal Assent on 16 December 2014 and is now law.

A continuation of the Focus Group meetings on the proposed Aerodrome NPA was planned for January 2015, but due to scheduling conflict, was postponed. In order to move forward with this initiative, Transport Canada indicated they would publish the Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) through the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council Activity Reporting System in early March 2015. COPA received email notification of the NPA on 26 February 2015. The disadvantage of issuing the NPAs before the Focus Group convenes will make it more difficult to change many of the measures. Now Transport Canada has scheduled the NPA Focus Group to discuss the regulatory proposal on 31 March and 1 April 2015.

As COPA continues to work on this issue, we strongly recommend that every member read the Notice of Proposed Amendment on Aerodromes and send in your written response to the CARAC secretariat (carrac@tc.gc.ca) with copies to COPA (pgilligan@copanational.org). COPA is in the process of drafting its position brief and it will be available at COPA "Take Action". The cutoff date for comments on this proposed rulemaking is 8 April 2015.

This issue is so important that every member should contact their MPP, MLA or Provincial Transport Minister. Contact information. The time for comment is very short on this critical issue that is fundamental to your Freedom to Fly in Canada.

New Strict Proposed Regulations For New & Existing Aerodromes

URGENT ACTION, 8 April 2015 Deadline!

From Patrick Gilligan, COPA

Transport Canada has just sent a new strict proposed regulation for all aerodromes. A consultation requirement with 27 "onerous" public notification steps estimated by TC to cost new and existing aerodrome owners up to $60,000.

The most devastating requirements are:

• The installation/aerodrome must adhere to local building and fire codes, no longer according to the National Building Code of Canada.
• Information on the environmental status of the project, including any requirements under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

Public consultation

1. The public consultation process will apply to:
   a. A new aerodrome development
    i. Within a built-up area of a city or town;
    ii. In non-built up areas if
     1. It is within 4000m of a built-up area of a city or town;
     2. It is in or within 4000m of a protected area; or
     3. It is within 30 nautical miles of a registered or certified aerodrome.
   b. An existing aerodrome development if
    i. modifications result in changes to existing level(s) of service or operation; or
    ii. modifications result or could reasonably result in change(s) to existing usage.
2. Pre-Consultation: Proponents must notify NAV CANADA and Transport Canada of their aerodrome proposal regardless of the requirement to conduct a public consultation.

Action required

Until 8 April 2015, comments on this notice may be addressed, in writing, to:

CARAC Notice #2013-014 contact info: carrac@tc.gc.ca also please copy COPA’s National office by copying Patrick Gilligan who is the coordinator for COPA’s response.

Note: after this date, comments will no longer be considered in further revisions to the regulations and standards.

External links

• Notice of Proposed Amendment

Progress on the Environmental Assessment at Toronto City Centre

By Cheryl Marek, Southern Ontario Director, Canadian Owners and Pilots Association

In 2013 Ports Toronto proposed an extension of Runway 08-26 in order to allow for commercial jet flights into and out of the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (BBTCA) (formerly known as Toronto Island Airport) in response to a request from the airport’s anchor tenant, Porter Airlines.

To assess the Porter proposal, Ports Toronto (formerly Toronto Ports Authority) secured Swerhun Facilitation to develop and oversee public engagement in determining the scope and process for the EA and Airport Master Plan. To date (February 28), since November 2014, there have been about 7 Agency Advisory Committee (AAC) meetings, an Open House Day and 2 public input sessions, and 2 of 4 Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) meetings. The 14 AAC groups include, for example: City of Toronto a) Waterfront Secretariat, b) Community Planning and c) Toronto Public Health; Build Toronto; Transport Canada; Greater Toronto Airports Authority; Province of Ontario a) Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and b) Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The 36 SAC include active participation by COPA, Toronto Island Pilots (TIPA - COPA Flight 32), Tourism Industry of Ontario, Porter Airlines, Toronto Financial District BIA, Air Canada, Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Trans Capital Air, Stolport Corporation, and a couple dozen environmental, boating, waterfront, neighbourhood groups. Detailed comments from all meetings (recorded during or submitted in writing or by phone) that inform the processes are found at BBTCA Runway EA website under the various drop down menus.

The Draft EA, to be discussed at the March 3 and 10 SAC meetings, will assess effects from the following two future scenarios:

1. No amendments to the Tripartite Agreement are implemented; and
2. Tripartite Agreement is amended to permit commercial jet operations and the extension of Runway 08-26.

I look forward to comments you may have, especially with respect to General Aviation at BBCTA.

The update of the 2012 Airport Master Plan is addressed through a conceptual design developed by Ports Toronto that could accommodate the requested runway extension, as well as noise and other mitigation measures that could be required as a result of commercial jet flights. The proposed design and operational changes to the runway are described in Ports Toronto’s 2015 Master Planning exercise. More details are found on the BBTCA Runway EA Public Meetings page under February 26 Master Planning Presentation and Master Planning Handouts.

COPA Seeks New President and CEO

COPA is looking for the person who will become just the third person to lead the organization since it was founded in 1952. Here is the official announcement for the job opening:

COPA is a not-for-profit organization with over 17,000 members. Its mission is to protect Personal Aviation and promote it as a valued, integral and sustainable part of the Canadian Community. More information may be found on COPA's website at www.copanational.org

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President & CEO leads a small team of dedicated professionals at COPA's national office in Ottawa. The President & CEO is responsible for providing valuable membership services, contributing to the corporate strategy and business plan, leading and integrating corporate goals and deliverables, influencing governments, assisting the Board with regard to corporate governance while leading and managing the national office.

The successful candidate will have experience with how governments work at the political level and related legislation; knowledge of the challenges facing General and Personal Aviation in Canada; experience in managing and leading teams and effectively working with a Board of Directors. Ideally the candidate will bring experience with regulatory structures and regulations affecting aviation and its impact on the aviation industry. A comprehensive job description, inclusive core and desirable qualifications, may be found at www.copa.recruiterbox.com.

Interested individuals may apply in confidence for the position through the online recruiting website at www.copa.recruiterbox.com or forward their application via e-mail to copa@applications.recruiterbox.com The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, March 26th , 2015.

COPA/AOPA Survey: NEW Canadian Cross Border requirement

By Patrick Gilligan

COPA and AOPA need all pilots to complete this survey. Your opinion counts!

In previous articles (August 2014 COPA article and October 2014) I alerted members to the development of an additional procedure being developed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) for crossing the border. This survey will provide statistical feedback to Canadian and US officials to find a solution that both addresses their goals and minimizes duplication. COPA is heavily involved in finding creative solutions to minimize the detrimental consequences that any additional requirements will have on our sector of aviation.

I would like to emphasize that no changes have been made to the existing requirements. Any change to the requirements for crossing the border in a GA aircraft will, at the earliest, occur sometime in 2016.

COPA highlighted that the fundamental issue is the elimination of duplication. Since all pilots must complete the US eAPIS reports for entering and exiting the US, it would be a relatively simple extension for the US to send information to Canada for their security purposes.

CBSA officials continue to collaborate with our sector, while at the same time respecting the Government of Canada’s privacy rules and policies, which make the work more challenging. A Washington meeting succeeded in convincing the CBSA that their US counterparts are willing to cooperate. COPA will continue to participate in the ongoing working group meetings as well as with our counterparts in the US in an effort to develop a program that both meets our government’s needs and minimizes the impact on our sector of aviation.

• Complete the COPA/AOPA Survey on CBSA’s Canadian Cross Border NEW requirement

Special Event For Kevin Psutka

by Jack Hawley, Director, Communications and Advertising, The Cornwall Flying Club/COPA Flight 59

The Cornwall Flying Club/ COPA Flight 59 will be hosting a very special event to honour the work of our COPA President, Kevin Psutka who will be retiring soon.

Please reserve the April 18, 2015 and consider attending this most auspicious occasion to show our respect and gratitude for all that Kevin has done on behalf of the members of COPA and indeed for Canadian General Aviation in general.

• Date: Saturday, 18 April 2015
• Cocktails: 1700 hrs, Dinner at 1800 hrs
• Location: Best Western Parkway Inn & Conference Centre, 1515 Vincent Massey Drive, Cornwall
• Cost: ~$35‐40/person

If you are interested in attending please send an e‐mail to me and I will send you the tickets.

Kevin Psutka Reveals Plans

by Kevin Psutka

After 18 great years at COPA I have decided to move on. Please see the announcement of my retirement from COPA and my farewell message to members.

The COPA Board is seeking a new President and CEO (the ad will be available on the front page of the COPA website), and in the interim the CEO will be Trekker Armstrong, COPA Chair, assisted by COPA Director Jean Messier.

My last day in the office is 28 January 2015. As of 29 January, any email for the President and CEO should be sent to president@copanational.org and it will be responded to as soon as possible. kpsutka@copanational.org will be deactivated.

As of 2 March 2015 I will be employed as a Safety and Security Representative at the Air Line Pilots Association International.

Media Contact

• Trekker Armstrong, Canadian Owners & Pilots Association

COPA's President & CEO, Kevin Psutka, announces his intention to retire in 2015

Ottawa, Ontario—November 27, 2014 —COPA’s Board of Directors today announced that Kevin Psutka has declared his plans for retiring from his position as COPA's President & CEO in 2015.

"Kevin’s extraordinary vision and leadership guided COPA through times of tremendous change," said Trekker Armstrong, Chairman of COPA’s Board of Directors. Mr. Psutka, with 18 years tenure in his current position, has proven to be one of the most knowledgeable Executives on general aviation matters in Canada’s Personal Aviation sector.

With over 5000 hours flying experience, including commercial fixed-wing and rotary licences, Mr. Psutka has firsthand experience with past and present challenges facing our sector and very knowledgeable of the future challenges our sector will face. As President and CEO, Mr. Psutka’s duties and responsibilities are wide ranging. In this capacity he is liaison and primary contact person for: Transport Canada, Nav Canada, other Canadian Aviation Associations, AOPA and EAA plus US & Canadian Border Agencies. This extended beyond North America to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and The International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), where he serves as Vice President for North America.

While the COPA Board understood and was planning for succession, Kevin Psutka’s announcement to the Board of Directors has triggered the succession plan. He will remain in full capacity as President & CEO until such time as a replacement is found, with a succession transition to follow. The COPA Board of Directors will immediately undertake to enact the succession plan and begin the recruitment process for a new President & CEO.

COPA is the largest aviation Association in Canada covering Personal Aviation – that sector of General Aviation where aircraft are flown for personal travel and recreation. COPA is also the 2nd largest AOPA in the World. COPA protects Personal Aviation and promotes it as a valued, integral and sustainable part of the Canadian Community.

Media Contact

• Trekker Armstrong, Canadian Owners & Pilots Association

External Links

• Canada's Psutka To Retire, by Russ Niles, AVweb

Transport minister surprises industry with new powers

By Kevin Psutka, COPA president and CEO

Since my previous update in June on Transport Canada’s initiative to amend the Aeronautics Act and Aerodrome regulations to require consultation on any aerodrome development, there has been little progress, or so I thought. The industry participants had received a draft report of the focus group, for which COPA submitted extensive comments, and we were waiting for finalization of the report as well as release of draft regulations this fall for further discussion. The documents associated with this effort are here.

As part of Transport Canada’s initiative, the schedule included the eventual introduction of an Aeronautics Act amendment on the definition of an aerodrome, with the intent to exclude some types of aerodromes, such as ones that are infrequently used, from being protected by federal jurisdiction. As you may appreciate, this initiative is a critical one for our sector and indeed for all of aviation, especially considering all of the work COPA has done, including spending hundreds of thousands from your Freedom to Fly Fund over many years to defend the concept of federal jurisdiction and your right to establish and build aviation-related facilities on your land without interference from local authorities. It has come to my attention that on October 23 an amendment to the Aeronautics Act was introduced to Parliament, contained along with many other unrelated matters in Bill C-43 concerning the budget.

To my knowledge no one in the industry has been consulted on the amendment. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the definition of an aerodrome. Instead, this very broad amendment gives the Minister sweeping powers to prohibit any development at any aerodrome and any change of operations at any aerodrome. It is well beyond what was anticipated during the discussions with industry on the requirement to consult. Furthermore, if the amendment passes into law, the Minister will be able to avoid all consultation processes, such as would be the case when a regulatory change is made, and unilaterally issue an order to prohibit the establishment of any aerodrome, development of any aerodrome and any operational changes at any aerodrome whenever the Minister deems it to be necessary, in the Minister’s opinion, for safety or in the public interest.

“In the public interest” is not defined. With no policy to protect and encourage most of aviation and with a flawed National Airports Policy that puts the future of smaller airports and aerodromes in the hands of local interests, the Minister would be free to make a decision on a case by case basis what would be in the public’s interest, not necessarily in the best interest of the future of aviation.

I asked Shari Currie, TC Director, Policy and Regulatory Services, who is responsible for this file, how this amendment got to Parliament without consulting stakeholders and here is what she said:

"The proposed Act amendment and the work towards the proposed regulatory amendment are related although not the same. There is more work to do on the regulatory amendment including a focus group at which I trust COPA will participate. Basically, the proposed amendment tightens up the legislative authority to make regulations with respect to responsible aerodrome development. Those requirements will come later, and hopefully with your help, so we can find the right balance."

I responded to Shari as follows:

"Thank you for this clarification. Although not directly related to the NPAs that are in development, the Act amendment relates directly to the fundamental issue that we brought to (Transport Canada’s) attention. If the duty to consult is one-sided, whereby aerodrome proponents are required to consult and those who would affect an aerodrome are not, such as residential, wind farm and cell tower proponents, this would be as a minimum very unfair.

The amendment of the Act to give the Minister power to prohibit development and operation at any aerodrome without similar power to prohibit development or operations near aerodromes that would be detrimental to aviation is also very unfair. So, in that sense the Act amendment is very germane and as a minimum should have been brought to stakeholders’ attention before it had progressed this far."

I would like to amplify the point I made to Shari Currie. COPA is not opposed to strengthening the Minister’s ability, if not already available through other means, to prevent abuse of federal jurisdiction when people, for example, flaunt federal jurisdiction in order to use an aerodrome for a land fill operation. However, in the spirit of protecting and promoting aviation, the Minster should also have the ability to step in when activities near an aerodrome, such as residential development, cell towers and wind farms may have a negative impact on an aerodrome, which I believe is very much safety and public interest issues. Proceeding with a one-sided Act amendment to prohibit aviation and one-sided regulatory amendments to require aerodrome proponents to consult is simply unfair.

This rapidly unfolding situation has a very short fuse. Since the Act amendment is already in the hands of Parliament and has already gone through second reading in the House, bypassing all normal consultation processes, the next step is a review by the Finance Committee, which in turn has assigned examination of the Act amendment to the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications (SCOTC).

I have notified the Committee that COPA will submit a brief and I requested an opportunity to appear before the Committee. I have also asked other aviation industry leaders who are involved in the requirement to consult initiative to join COPA in this effort. The goal of the Minister of Transport is to bring the amendment into law before Parliament adjourns for Christmas. Many readers, especially those who own or want to own an aerodrome, are probably wondering about the future of their investment. It is too soon to provide a firm indication of the full impact of the amendment and the yet-to-be seen regulatory amendments. If you are trying to decide what you should do with your investment , please read our Guide to Private Aerodromes and then either wait while all of this unfolds over the next year or proceed at your own risk. COPA’s legal counsel has been asked to provide a report on the legal implications, should the Act amendment and revised regulations become law, but for now we are uncertain of the full implications until the Act and regulation amendments are in their final form. If you want to express your concern about this unfolding situation, contact your Member of Parliament now, tell him/her about how unfair it is for the Minister to introduce such a significant and one-sided amendment without public consultation buried in an unrelated Bill, then ask your MP to influence his/her colleagues to postpone the amendment until proper consideration is given.

External links

• COPA Brief for the Standing Committee on Finance
• The COPA president will be appearing before the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on Wednesday, 19 November at 7:45 pm Eastern time.