Release #: Vol. 85, No. 1
January 01, 2016

Pilot Commentary: ALPA's Leadership Role in Canada

By Capt. Dan Adamus (Jazz Aviation), ALPA Canada Board President

In December 2015, ALPA’s Canada Board hosted our annual reception in Ottawa, Ont. This has become “the” event on the holiday reception circuit for Canadian aviation industry stakeholders.

During the reception, it struck me that the more than 100 people attending—a who’s who of government and industry representatives, ALPA members and staff, and other Canadian airline pilots—came together at ALPA’s invitation. I can’t think of any other organization that has this kind of cachet.

In attendance was Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, who had just taken office in November. The minister’s chief of staff also attended, even though it was his first day on the job. That’s a powerful testament to ALPA’s leadership in Canada.

Addressing attendees, Garneau said that he looked forward to meeting with ALPA in 2016. ALPA is also reaching out to other members of the new government to ensure that our voice—the voice of pilots in Canada—is heard. We will continue to work with government officials to advance our strategic priorities and promote the policy recommendations we made in “State of Our Skies: Canada,” which we sent to members of Parliament.

ALPA’s leadership role is evident on all fronts. For example, ALPA, as part of a broad coalition of aviation organizations, sent a letter to Garneau in December, outlining our concerns related to unmanned aircraft vehicles, and we stand ready to engage in further discussions on this issue. We’re also redoubling our efforts to push for new science-based flight- and duty-time regulations, and continue to work closely with Transport Canada and law enforcement to combat the increasing threat from laser attacks.

The new year started off strong with the National Revenue minister waiving labour organization reporting requirements under Bill C-377—the first step in repealing the legislation. Since it was first introduced in 2011, ALPA has worked to defeat C-377, which would have put an onerous administrative burden on labour organizations such as ALPA.

Other legislation that ALPA has vehemently opposed and the new government has vowed to repeal is Bill C-525, which amends the Canada Labour Code and other federal legislation dealing with the union certification/decertification process in the federal sector. A blatant attack on labour, the bill was designed to weaken unions. Repeal of this bill will simplify the process for federal employees to gain union representation—a benefit to all workers in Canada.

ALPA pilots know the benefits of representation and the unity that comes with it. In 2016, ALPA is focused on continuing to grow and advance our vision to represent all airline pilots in North America. Last year we welcomed Virgin America pilots, and we’re working hard to bring new pilot groups into ALPA.

To that end, we’re exploring a possible merger with AOA Canada, which represents the Canadian pilots who fly for Cathay Pacific. We’re also ramping up our organizing efforts at Porter Airlines and WestJet, with pilots at both airlines building and training their organizing committees. And we continue to speak with other Canadian pilot groups to gauge their interest in joining ALPA.

We’re well positioned for continued growth. Although some airlines downsized or shut down in 2015, the encouraging news is that most airlines in Canada are hiring. To ensure that Canadian pilots are the first to benefit from these job opportunities, ALPA’s tireless work on the issue of foreign pilots operating in Canada continues. Our efforts include advocating for the government to adopt ALPA’s policy recommendations regarding wet-leasing and other programs. As a result of our actions, a number of our furloughed members are once again flying for Canadian airlines.

The unifying power of ALPA representation is key to supporting our members throughout their careers. I’ll close with one last example.

On December 11, Capt. Nick Little (Wasaya) died in an accident involving Wasaya Flight 127 north of Pickle Lake, Ont. Without hesitation, ALPA representatives from Canadian Pilot Assistance and our Critical Incident Response Program were on hand offering support and assistance. I was among the ALPA pilots who attended Little’s funeral, where the CEO of Wasaya expressed his profound thanks for all the support from the Association. ALPA will continue to work closely with the Wasaya Master Executive Council to help throughout this process.

One more reason I’m so proud to be a part of this great union.

This article is from the January-February 2016 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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