College of Pilots?

[CD]

[LV2FLY2]

Don't be fooled by all the SMS & QA buzz words. The Ivory Tower hasn't a clue on the real word. This will give you a laugh. I presented TC with a factual case of bogus primary flight control parts operating in a commercial helicopter. A year later after alot of political pushing TC concluded that it was "an oversight" by the AME.........so what happens to whistle blowers under the fames SMS non-punitative reporting? They get blue vest at Wal-Mart

[mattedfred]

I'm sorry but I don't understand what this has to do with a CofPPofC?

[collegeofpilots]

There has been a great deal of concern expressed about the apparent lack of transparency regarding the establishment of the College of Professional Pilots of Canada, some of which has unfortunately arisen due to the construction of a web page, otherwise lacking in content. There was a requirement to register a domain, and proceed with full construction of the web page, which is underway at this time.

I am a member of the Board of Directors, acting as Director, Pacific Region {BC and Yukon}. Perhaps I could answer specific questions or concerns about our initiative, rather than fill pages of this forum with supporting documentation, which will soon {hopefully} be available on our web page.

Right off the top, I can deal with a common concern. The College is not a union, and will not be involved in any direct employment issues between commercial pilots and their employers.

The Board consists of pilots from 703/704/705 operations. Our "sponsoring" organizations represent nearly 9,000 commercial pilots in Canada, and have provided us with considerable resources to accomplish our goals.

The concept of a professional College has been discussed, in various organizations, for over thirty years. It was not initiated by Transport Canada.

Professional pilot Colleges exist in Spain and Mexico, by a similar form in France, and we understand the concept is being pursued in the United States.

The aim of the College is to include all commercial pilots {including rotary wing} in Canada. The authority to self regulate, the true requirement to be considered a "profession", is granted by legislative mandate, in our case by the Parliament of Canada. Dozens of professional Colleges exist in Canada, the familiar ones in the fields of medicine, law, engineering, accounting, education and dentistry, and many unfamiliar ones, such as the land surveyors {the oldest one in the country} and registered dietitians. The authority to self govern is granted to a vocation in the public interest, recognizing that this is best accomplished by those with the most experience and qualifications in very technical occupations, and where there is a need for the highest standards of professional conduct.

The initial Board of Directors was appointed, our task is to establish a framework for the College so that membership can be opened to all commercial pilots in Canada, who will then elect the standing Board.

Perhaps I will just start with this quick overview, and repeat my offer to answer any specific questions or concerns.

Colin Bechtel

[Widow]

Welcome Colin!

[mattedfred]

Welcome to Avcanada Colin,

I appreciate the work that you and the rest of the volunteers have done to date. I think it takes courage for you to post on Avcanada. I'm glad that you are willing to open the lines of communication before the website is operational. I think it shows respect to those commercial pilots that visit this site.

[Cat Driver]

Thanks for posting that Colin.

Don't fret about needing courage to post on Avcanada, as long as one sticks to facts and is willing to stand up for what you believe is best for the industry this is the forum in Canada to use.

[Dust Devil]

I guess my first question is how are you planning to get a mandate from the industry to go forward?

Second any plans to contact pilots other than on this website or your own website?

What organizations are sponsoring this initiative? Are your primary sponsors Unions?

[xsbank]

Thank you for risking an appearance on this site - you will need a thick skin to withstand the barrage of paranoia and mistrust that you will be showered with, but perhaps that will be a bellwhether of the typical population in aviation in Canada? Good luck and I look forward to hearing some definitive information about the college and its intended role.

[2namelt]

Hello,

My question is:

What would be an approximate time before things are fully up and running?

Thanks for posting!

[mcrit]

Hi Colin,
Thanks for taking the time to come here and answer questions.

I am curious about the proposed make up of the board of directors. Will directors have to be pilots with a certain level of experience? Will directors be elected by the membership of the College or appointed by the government? What sort of representation will operators have on the board of directors?

[collegeofpilots]

Dust Devil:

We do not require a mandate from the industry to form the College, the authority is granted legislatively. We have given preliminary briefings to the management of several air carriers, and are encouraged by the generally very positive response.

No plans at this point, the website will be the main focus of our communication with our prospective members. Our regional Directors will be available to speak to interested groups.

We do not have "primary" sponsors, and they include all the major union and non-union organized pilot groups, and a number of smaller ones. The sponsors do not have direct representation on the Board, but pilots from all these groups are appointed to the Board.

Colin

[Jastapilot]

My question is:

is this the right link?
http://collegeofpilots.com/

[collegeofpilots]

2namelt:

The size and scope of this undertaking is enormous. We have been working on this project directly for two years now. We are hoping to have the website operational in the next couple of months.

The plan is to establish the College as a functioning entity, with our membership and governance structure fully in place over the next year. The evolution into a full professional College with legislative authority will likely require two to three years to achieve, given the nature of the work involved.

Given the on and off nature of our Parliament these days, predicting outcomes is difficult.

Colin

[collegeofpilots]

mcrit:

We are creating a task force, several in fact, and one will be assigned to develop a full membership and governance structure, which would be approved by the Board. It might be premature of me to make any definitive statement regarding issues like required experience levels. However, our current Board has no such requirements.

The members of the College would elect their national officers. Given the size of our vast country, and the range of specialty occupations, much work has to be done on the questions of regional and sectoral representation, i.e., 703/704/705 operations, rotary wing etc.

It is anticipated that there would be government appointees on the standing Board, a common practice for professional colleges. There has been some discussion about industry participation, that remains an open question. Interestingly, one industry lobby group has already asked to join our current Board, we are still thinking about that one.

Colin

[collegeofpilots]

Jastapilot:

I have www.collegeofpilots.ca

Colin

[Dust Devil]

Dust Devil:



No plans at this point, the website will be the main focus of our communication with our prospective members. Our regional Directors will be available to speak to interested groups.



Colin

The editor of the Safety Letter issued by TC offered to inform pilots about the college in this thread. Any interest in taking them up on the offer?

[patter]

http://www.gapan.org/upload/file/84_gui ... c-09-3.pdf

I think this may be on topic?
Note that fees are involved!

[V1 Rotate]

About time. I look forward to this organization.

[AEROBAT]

If you want to make the commercial licence more "professional" kick the minimum PIC up to 500 hours. If people actually followed what they were taught when doing their training you would not see these stupid accidents we read about in the papers. It is not exactly rocket science. This is about the only industry where your peers condone incompetance and "pressure" as an excuse for failure.

[moreccsplease]

Welcome, Colin. This is the kind of open dialogue that is appreciated and very much needed, and has been missing for some time.

I'm sure once the proper information gets out to the masses (the website can't be finished soon enough, but I understand it has to be right, and look professional), the pilots of this country will unify behind this concept and and make it a reality.

On behalf of the many like-minded pilots like myself, thank-you for coming on here, and thanks to the Board for its time.

[Doc]

Right off the top, I can deal with a common concern. The College is not a union, and will not be involved in any direct employment issues between commercial pilots and their employers.

Welcome aboard. This particular issue is one of the biggest problems within our industry, as I see it.
The pressure brought to bare on pilots, by unscrupulous employers.
The requirement for pilots to "bring their cheque books" when joining some companies.
Pilots being required to sign promissory notes for employment.
Pilots working with non union companies have absolutely no protection from companies running rough shod over their rights.

Thoughts?

[Doc]

We have given preliminary briefings to the management of several air carriers, and are encouraged by the generally very positive response.

Okay, I'm not shy. Which air carriers are you referring to? Nice strong unionized and no unionized companies like West Jet, and Air Canada? Or some of the companies employing pilots who actually need a "voice", like Fast Air and Wasaya.
I'm not surprised you would receive a positive response from companies with which your college would have little or no affect.
In my book, it should be all about safety and fair play.

[Dust Devil]

I read in some other threads about this college that some people feel that OC holders should be excluded from such an organization? I'm assuming this would include one pilot one airplane operators. Why do they not deserve a voice? Sure there may not be the same employer employee issues but there are other issues in the industry

[Doc]

I read in some other threads about this college that some people feel that OC holders should be excluded from such an organization? I'm assuming this would include one pilot one airplane operators. Why do they not deserve a voice? Sure there may not be the same employer employee issues but there are other issues in the industry

"Why would they not a deserve a vote?" A "vote"? A vote on what?