TRAN Committee Report

NDP Supplementary Opinion

The NDP supports the majority report of the study on Challenges Facing Flight Schools in Canada even though it neglects many critical issues and abundant, compelling evidence. To address these shortcomings, we are providing a supplementary opinion to the report.

Our recommendations reflect the ideas and values of New Democrats and increase cooperation between the industry and the communities in which it operates, for example by addressing safety, economic development and public health issues. We believe the government must put tools in place to promote the development of flight schools in the regions, improve the training and certification process, and allow the airline industry to strike a balance between the need for qualified pilots and the need to maintain a strong network of experienced trainers.

The NDP’s recommendations also address Transport Canada’s role in establishing a more effective system for examining and certifying new pilots and in increasing regulatory oversight, particularly in regions with higher accident rates.

Recommendation 1: That Transport Canada take the necessary steps to speed up the training process for pilot examiners and that these steps not be at the expense of safety.

“A secondary issue that will be rearing its ugly head here in the near future, I’m sure, is the shortage of pilot examiners. […] However, this is compounded by the fact that Transport Canada is taking excessively long time frames to train and certify new pilot examiners. From our experience, the actual training process, which takes approximately two to three days of focused activities to complete, has taken as much as six to 12 months. Over the last decade, Transport Canada’s level of service has become a serious issue for operators. Whether it’s licensing of pilots, approval of operational manuals or amendments, or specialty activities such as pilot examiner training, the current time taken is way outside the norm. It recently took over one year to get a flight training manual approved.”

- Mike Doiron, Aviation Safety Officer, EVAS Air Charters, Gander Flight Training Aerospace

While the committee’s report addresses the shortage of pilot instructors and recognizes the importance of government action to address this issue, it does not propose any action with respect to the shortage of pilot examiners and Transport Canada’s unreasonable delays in the training and certification of new pilot examiners.

Pilot examiners are just as important as pilot instructors in training new pilots. Increasing the number of pilot instructors is not a solution to the challenges flight schools face if their students have to wait several months, or even several years, to be evaluated. Transport Canada needs to review its examination and certification system to speed up the entry of new pilots into the job market. However, these changes must not be at the expense of safety or quality.

Recommendation 2: That the federal government establish guidelines to encourage the use of rural airports in order to reduce noise and the risk of collisions above densely populated areas.

“People who live near airports often feel like second-class citizens. They cannot enjoy a normal evening like everyone else. Cargo aircraft begin flying over homes at 4 a.m. At about 5 a.m., 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., there are itinerant flights headed towards the regions. Between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., there are local flights by small aircraft that transport packages. We are woken up starting at 4 a.m. and constantly bombarded by the noise.”

- Johanne Domingue, Comité antipollution des avions de Longueuil, testimony as part of the study on Assessing the Impact of Aircraft Noise in the Vicinity of Major Canadian Airports

Ms. Domingue told the committee that continuous flights near residential areas negatively affect residents’ quality of life. Given the known health risks, measures must be taken to limit the negative impacts on Canadians.

“Guidelines for flight training would be put in place that encourages the use of rural airports, as was the case during WWII, and discourages the use of urban airports where the flights must occur over densely populated areas. This deployment would additionally enhance the economy of rural areas.”

- Excerpt from the brief by William Baird, who lives in a community adjacent to the Ottawa International Airport

In addition to reducing noise around major airports, developing rural airports would support regional economic growth and, in particular, reduce air traffic above major centres while decreasing the risk of mid-air collisions. These measures would enable training to be conducted under safer conditions.

Recommendation 3: That the federal government upgrade the services offered by Nav Canada and Transport Canada at smaller airports, including aids to navigation services.

“The federal government and Nav Canada are concentrating all the services they offer on the major airports in Canada. These airports are already quite busy and cater mostly to major airlines. […] However, flight schools like mine that operate away from these major centres must operate on smaller aerodromes that are not supported by Nav Canada and/or the federal government.… Navaids and instrument approaches are no longer supported by Nav Canada, and both navaids and the approaches are being decommissioned at all but the major airports. How are we supposed to train new pilots if the major airports are overcrowded and the smaller ones no longer have the infrastructure required to support flight operations and flight training? We can train private pilots without access to conventional navaids and instrument approaches, but we cannot train professional pilots without them.”

- Martin Hivon, President and Chief Flight Instructor, Aviation MH

To further support the development of regional flight schools, we believe it is essential for Transport Canada and Nav Canada to upgrade the services offered in rural airports in order to help existing flight schools maintain and improve their services, and to support the establishment of new flight schools at less busy airports.

Recommendation 4: That the federal government increase Transport Canada’s regulatory oversight in regions with the highest accident rates, particularly in the North.

“Let me speak frankly. Day-to-day regulatory oversight can be totally disconnected from the reality on the ground. Rules require self-monitoring, and that means pilots are supposed to decide for themselves whether or not they are fit for duty, which can be a tough decision when you are new and out of your element. […] If you need the job to get a better job, it can create a tremendous amount of pressure on inexperienced pilots, and it’s one of the reasons that, when we look at accident rates in Canadian aviation, the majority of hull losses—in other words, the total loss of an aircraft, and far too often the souls on board—are in the far north. I can tell you honestly that, as a parent, I did not get a good night’s sleep when my son was flying up north.”

Captain Mike Hoff (Captain, External Affairs Committee, Air Canada Pilots Association)

The reality of the industry is that the first job many newly licensed young pilots get is in the North. Paradoxically, it is a very demanding work environment, where pilots can face unique pressures and challenges. However, Transport Canada does not exercise the same level of oversight in the North as it does in busier areas. We believe it is imperative for Transport Canada to adapt its oversight in these remote areas so our young pilots have a healthier and safer work environment.