As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada—in co-operation with relevant stakeholders, including but not limited to airlines, the general aviation community, flight school operators, provincial, municipal and territorial governments and Indigenous communities—develop policies to support and encourage the growth of Canada’s flight training industry.

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada, in co-operation with provincial, municipal and territorial authorities, encourage flight instruction as a career path and consider implementing incentives such as tax credits for experienced pilots and loan forgiveness programs for newly graduated pilots. As well, that the Student Work Placement program be expanded to include flight instructor training.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada, in co-operation with provincial, municipal and territorial authorities, support outreach activities to encourage underrepresented groups such as veterans, women and Indigenous people to consider careers in the aviation industry, building on projects such as Economic Security for Women through Aviation.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada increase support to flight schools in remote and Northern communities through targeted outreach programs, economic incentives to assist new and existing schools with capital costs, sector-specific training guidelines for Northern flight operations and loan forgiveness programs for new pilots serving with Northern operators.

Recommendation 5

That the Government of Canada take steps to modernize the current hours-based flight instruction regime and encourage the use of Competency-Based Training methods as the primary reference for training completion.

Recommendation 6

That the Government of Canada support the development of new technologies in flight training, such as flight training devices, electric aircraft and alternative biofuels.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada modernize current flight training regulations to allow, when appropriate, the use of new technologies in flight training.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada work with provincial, municipal and territorial authorities to craft, where safe and appropriate, exemptions to the requirement for third party training of flight instructors.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada, in co-operation with provincial, municipal and territorial authorities, provide increased support to Canada’s flight schools and establish economic incentives to assist with the high capital costs associated with the establishment, operation and expansion of flight schools. Furthermore, that the Government of Canada increase the level of funding available through the Airport Capital Assistance Program, to reflect the recommendations of the 2015 Canada Transportation Act Review Panel.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada consider introducing 100-per-cent bonus depreciation for certain capital assets for flight schools to allow the write off of equipment purchases such as flight simulators and training aircraft.

Recommendation 11

That the Government of Canada, in cooperation with provincial and territorial authorities, take the following steps to support flight students:

• amend the terms of the Canada Student Loans Program to include in-air instruction time as instructional time for the purpose of loan eligibility;
• extend the Student Work Placement program to flight training for employment purposes;
• extend the Veterans’ Affairs Canada Education and Training Benefit to flight training for employment purposes; and
• establish financial assistance programs or amend existing programs to assist professional students with the high cost of flight instruction through expanded eligibility criteria which recognize the integral role of Private Pilot’s Licence training in training commercial pilots.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada establish a clear framework to simplify and encourage immigration by foreign pilots, particularly international graduates of Canadian flight schools.

Recommendation 13

That the Government of Canada review current levels of regulatory oversight in the aviation industry, particularly in regard to operations that are heavily dependent on recently graduated pilots.