Canada’s change in government in late 2015 has provided ALPA with a renewed opportunity as well as a new challenge in the Association’s continuing advocacy and representation efforts to make positive changes for Canadian ALPA members and the Canadian airline industry.

There has been consistency in leadership at Transport Canada since late 2015 with the Honourable Marc Garneau as minister of transport (see “Guest Commentary,” page 7. A cabinet shuffle on January 10, however, brought a change in leadership to two other key federal departments with the Honourable Patty Hadju appointed minister of employment, workforce development, and labour and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen appointed minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship Canada. ALPA looks forward to continuing to work with these ministers and their departmental officials to protect the rights and livelihood of Canadian airline pilots and to make Canada’s airline industry even safer and more secure.

With the current parliamentary session—the 42nd Parliament (called on Dec. 3, 2015)—scheduled to break for the summer on June 23 for the House of Commons, and on June 30 for the Senate, Parliament has been engaged in a flurry of advocacy and legislative activity over the last few months.

Legislation

One of the government’s legislative campaign promises was to repeal certain legislation of the former government.

C-4—An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act, and the Income Tax Act—was introduced in the House of Commons on Jan. 28, 2016, and is currently in the last legislative phase, third reading, in the Senate and is awaiting a final vote.

Bill C-4 restores the bargaining agent certification and decertification procedures to the former card-check model, which requires evidence of majority support from employees, instead of the mandatory secret-ballot vote implemented by Bill C-525. Bill C-4 also repeals the reporting requirements for labour organizations and trusts introduced in the Income Tax Act by Bill C-377.

As per Senate procedural policy, debate on the bill can be continually adjourned by critics, putting off a vote to a later date. In addition, on April 11 a majority of senators voted to amend C-4 to restore the mandatory secret-ballot vote. As a result, the main bill, once voted on, would be sent back to the House of Commons amended, creating further delays for C-4.

C-10—An Act to Amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act—received Royal Assent on June 22, 2016. The act amends the original act of 1988 and contains provisions requiring Air Canada to carry out maintenance in Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba. It also adds that the corporation may, while not eliminating those activities in any of those provinces, change the type or volume of any or all of those activities as well as the level of employment. Bill C-10 was passed by the Senate without amendment.

Regulations

Fatigue Management (flight-time and duty-time regulations)

It has been a long, ongoing process to implement the necessary regulatory updates needed to strengthen aviation safety.

In 2009, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) introduced requirements for flight crew fatigue management standards. In 2010, Transport Canada created the Flight Crew Fatigue Management Working Group, composed of pilots, including Capt. Dan Adamus (Jazz Aviation), ALPA Canada president, who acted as co-chair, and representatives from industry associations to review the ICAO requirements. In 2012, following the release of the working group’s final report titled Report of the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council Flight Crew Fatigue Management Working Group, Transport Canada held a Technical Committee meeting, and, as a result of the Working Group’s report, a notice of proposed amendment was created and underwent a consultation process through the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council.

The aviation industry in Canada is finally anticipating the release of proposed regulatory updates this June. ALPA’s position on these proposed changes has been clear and consistent—a single-phase implementation for all airlines and an implementation period of 12 months is needed. ALPA’s message of “a pilot is a pilot, and fatigue is fatigue” has resonated well with parliamentarians and government officials.

Safer Skies Campaign

ALPA has partnered with other Canadian pilot groups to launch a public relations campaign to advocate for “fairer rest rules” for Canadian pilots. The campaign, “Safer Skies,” underlines the urgency for quicker implementation of the new fatigue regulations while also stressing how Canada lags behind its counterparts on defining fair, safe cumulative flight times. For more information, visit SaferSkies.ca.

Other Issues

Study on Aviation Safety in Canada

On April 4, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure, and Communities began hearings on aviation safety in Canada to examine personnel issues, enforcement and monitoring of legislation, equipment and infrastructure, flight operations, and accident intervention, to name a few.

The committee invited a broad spectrum of expert witnesses from the aviation community, including ALPA Canada President Adamus. Fatigue management and the safety risk it poses was a common theme for many of the presentations given by airline industry experts.

Study on Unmanned Air Vehicle Regulations

On Nov. 22, 2016, Adamus appeared as an industry witness before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure, and Communities to provide ALPA’s perspective on the critical importance of safely integrating unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) into Canadian airspace. He noted the importance of recognizing that safety issues are independent of any national airspace boundary and are faced by ALPA’s pilots as they operate around the globe. Adamus also expressed ALPA’s support for the ongoing efforts to safely integrate UAVs into the North American airspace system to ensure that aviation safety isn’t compromised and that safety is proactively, not reactively, protected.

The committee’s interim report was tabled in the House of Commons in February 2017. View the interim report.

Federal Budget (Fiscal Year 2016–2017)

On March 22, the federal budget was announced. It was widely speculated that this year’s budget would include the federal government’s plans to move forward on privatizing Canadian airports. While there was no mention of this, the budget did commit to a number of transportation sector-related spending activities and initiatives, including a more energy-efficient transportation sector by proposing to develop greenhouse gas regulations in the marine, rail, aviation, and vehicle sectors.

Regarding aviation, the 2017–2018 budget proposes to

• Provide $152 million in new funding for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Transport Canada, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to ensure there is consistent and effective security screening of travellers and airport workers.
• Modernize Canada’s transportation system by developing regulations for the safe adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles and UAVs; working with industry, provinces, territories, and municipalities to establish test projects (i.e., to evaluate new UAV technology at a new test centre); and increasing Transport Canada’s ability to establish and provide the standards and certifications that industry will need to safely use these new technologies.

National Aviation Day News Conference

On February 23, ALPA Canada President Adamus joined the minister of Transport in a news conference held as part of the National Aviation Day celebrations in Ottawa. He addressed the serious safety issue associated with a laser strike in the cockpit while Minister Garneau urged Canadians witnessing someone pointing a laser at an aircraft to immediately report it to law enforcement. ALPA has been engaged with government officials and legislators on further mitigating the serious safety issues associated with pointing a laser at aircraft.

Announcement on Recreational Drone Use

On March 16, Adamus joined Minister Garneau at a news conference to announce the government’s interim safety rules for recreational drone operators, restricting their use near high-risk areas such as airports. ALPA supports Transport Canada’s action to limit the use of UAVs near areas in which aviation safety would be jeopardized and is in favour of the government announcing a new requirement to mark recreational UAVs with a unique identifier. ALPA believes a registration that occurs at the point of sale should be the ultimate goal and is urging Transport Canada to include this in the new regulations.

Transportation 2030

On Nov. 3, 2016, Minister Garneau delivered a speech at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce regarding the future of Canada’s transportation system. His speech outlined important elements of the government’s Transportation 2030 plan, which was a preview of what was announced in the federal budget on March of this year.

Key aviation elements of the plan include

• The government’s desire to improve the experience of the Canadian traveller. The government will look at security screening, innovations, new equipment, and technology. Canadian Air Transport Security Authority governance would also be part of the review to make it more accountable to a service standard.
• The introduction of an Air Travellers Passenger Rights Regime to ensure that Canadians know their rights and when they’re eligible for compensation, such as compensation standards for passengers denied boarding due to factors within the carrier’s control or in the case of lost or damaged baggage.
• Lower fares and increased competition to increase options for Canadians by changing the rules regarding foreign ownership in Canada’s passenger airline industry from 25 percent of a Canadian airline to 49 percent.

Advocacy

Canadian Labour Congress’ Lobby Day on the Hill

On February 7, ALPA took part in the largest day of lobbying in the Canadian Labour Congress’ history. More than 361 people participated in 161 confirmed meetings with parliamentarians and government officials.