Medical privacy disclosure

[bravowhiskey]

www.pilotscanada77.com

December 12th, most Canadian pilots were advised of a document that needed to be signed, effective the very next day. This was a "Privacy Notice and Declaration for Medical Examinations".



The document was rolled out by airline management, as if it was simply a mundane bureaucratic exercise along with 'by the way'.. your license is in jeopardy if not signed.



Closer reading of the Privacy Notice and Declaration text (along with the "no notice" nature) immediately raised serious concerns with pilots and the largest pilot union in North America, ALPA.



This web site is meant to assist every pilot in Canada in making an informed decision about what to do with what appears to be a rather coercive demand. There are 60,000 licensed pilots in Canada. If even 10% of those begin engaging with Transport Canada, the Privacy Commissioner, ALPA and others, it can make a difference (see our 'What Can You DO?" post).

www.pilotscanada77.com

Please pass this website around!

[digits_]

I am confused. Who is making you sign this: airline management or your CAME?

Sounds like it's a document that allows TC to access the documents that you already need to give them in the first place?

[Me262]

CAME will be enforcing this it seems. If they wouldn't do as TC says, TC can yank their CAME licence just like they do with your medical if you don't sign via the CAME.

[ABflyer75]

This is just another massive overeach by the completely broken branch of the TC medical division. The question to be asked is what is the end game with such access to medical information. ALPA and the airlines are not wrong in their assessment of this issue, as it will affect many flying in this country.
Thats only the surface as the medical RAMO's seem to more willing to find issues and determine you are not fit for duty as oppossed to helping and working with people. This will only give them more tools to ground more pilots. Funny that the department that is supposed to look after the industry is in fact creating a unsafe situation by the implementation of this as it will only further drive pilots to not declare issues for fear of loosing their licence. Good on you TC, for thinking you are actually doing something productive, instead you are driving a wedge in the industry.
The system is broken and the industry needs to take action to preserve such beaurocratic nonsense. We aren't flying becasue TC is there, TC is there because we are flying and they have lost sight of that..Also quite interesting that the medical division is primarily people with little to no civilian experience making the rules for the one with all the experience, including the CAME's....

[Red_Comet]

"Additionally, I hereby authorize TC to collect and review any additional information about me from third parties that may be deemed necessary to establish that I meet the requirements for the medical certification of licensed aviation personnel, as specified in the Canadian Aviation Regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, information contained in healthcare provider records, laboratory reports, medical test results, medical record systems, and pharmacy databases."

This is definitely not what is happening currently. I've never seen any organization search pharmacy databases before. Does the military even do that?

It does look like it will be administered by the CAME, so we have no choice but to surrender all of the above records. I assume the CAME will be the one who has access to these, and will decide what info to share with TC. Not sure it's possible to fight this in a country where people lost their jobs/freedoms for not getting an experimental vaccine. Canada isn't the place for rights of any sort, but it is the world's number one in marketing these non-existent rights.

[lostav8r]

"Additionally, I hereby authorize TC to collect and review any additional information about me from third parties that may be deemed necessary to establish that I meet the requirements for the medical certification of licensed aviation personnel, as specified in the Canadian Aviation Regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, information contained in healthcare provider records, laboratory reports, medical test results, medical record systems, and pharmacy databases."

This is definitely not what is happening currently. I've never seen any organization search pharmacy databases before. Does the military even do that?

It does look like it will be administered by the CAME, so we have no choice but to surrender all of the above records. I assume the CAME will be the one who has access to these, and will decide what info to share with TC. Not sure it's possible to fight this in a country where people lost their jobs/freedoms for not getting an experimental vaccine. Canada isn't the place for rights of any sort, but it is the world's number one in marketing these non-existent rights.

Imagine if we had HIPAA?

[mantogasrsrwy]

A signature doesn't need to be a legible facsimile of your name. Everyone should sign it with and X. It definitely won't be getting my typical signature.

[altiplano]

X
"Under Duress"

[2022]

I can understand the concern around this new disclosure. I’m not saying I endorse every detail of the policy, but from Transport Canada’s perspective, it’s largely making explicit what was already in place behind the scenes. They’re essentially giving full transparency on what pilots are signing off on.

I highly doubt TC is going to randomly dig through pharmacy records. This disclosure is mostly about pilots who regularly see other doctors and answer “no” to the question about additional medical visits since their last exam. If you’re honest with your CAME, they will work with you—not penalize you. That has been my experience.

In reality, the disclosure is likely targeted at individuals with medical conditions that truly could compromise safety. The worst-case scenario might be being restricted to an SIC role. Is that so bad? You still get to fly, enjoy aviation, and avoid the full responsibility of the left seat. For those longing for four stripes, remember: it’s not always greener looking over the center console.

[Daniel Cooper]

If you read Mark Carney's book you will see he has a personal hatred of commercial aviation for climate change reasons. It would not surprise me if this is part of a multi-pronged government approach to try to impact Canadian airlines. At a minimum it is further move towards a UK style nanny state government with little personal rights and freedoms.
I have the good fortune to be able to travel overseas for my healthcare needs and will do that more now for privacy reasons. I've found it to be inexpensive and very convenient in terms of wait times. I can get a referred specialist appointment the same day I got the referral and in the same healthcare clinic building. In Canada I needed to wait 6+ months and travel across the country for the same.

[lostav8r]

If you read Mark Carney's book you will see he has a personal hatred of commercial aviation for climate change reasons. It would not surprise me if this is part of a multi-pronged government approach to try to impact Canadian airlines. At a minimum it is further move towards a UK style nanny state government with little personal rights and freedoms.
I have the good fortune to be able to travel overseas for my healthcare needs and will do that more now for privacy reasons. I've found it to be inexpensive and very convenient in terms of wait times. I can get a referred specialist appointment the same day I got the referral and in the same healthcare clinic building. In Canada I needed to wait 6+ months and travel across the country for the same.

Which chapter in the book says this? IMO these ideas go out the window when you see how the government is happy to use section 107 etc

[cdnavater]

I can understand the concern around this new disclosure. I’m not saying I endorse every detail of the policy, but from Transport Canada’s perspective, it’s largely making explicit what was already in place behind the scenes. They’re essentially giving full transparency on what pilots are signing off on.

I highly doubt TC is going to randomly dig through pharmacy records. This disclosure is mostly about pilots who regularly see other doctors and answer “no” to the question about additional medical visits since their last exam. If you’re honest with your CAME, they will work with you—not penalize you. That has been my experience.

In reality, the disclosure is likely targeted at individuals with medical conditions that truly could compromise safety. The worst-case scenario might be being restricted to an SIC role. Is that so bad? You still get to fly, enjoy aviation, and avoid the full responsibility of the left seat. For those longing for four stripes, remember: it’s not always greener looking over the center console.

I am not aware of any provision where they can medically restrict you to SIC, as far as I know they can assess you fit or fit with a restriction of two crew.
Perhaps, in a situation where the company operates two crew but the aircraft is single pilot and the FO does a PCC in lieu of a PPC, maybe this could be restrictive.
And yes, that would be bad, there is significant pay decrease for that lack of responsibility.
Next, the elephant in the room, TC would not have to dig through anything, they could set up a program to simply flag the names in the database for any new prescription, if this database doesn’t yet exist, which I’m sure it does but if not, they could create one for this purpose.
That being said, pilots should be self reporting and I am aware of some who didn’t and found out later they shouldn’t have been flying on the meds they were on, so I get it.
Let’s not pretend that this initiative is nothing, it gives them extra reach!

[Dry Guy]

Doctors prescribe shit all the time. That doesn't mean we actually take them. How do they prove what medications are in your body?

[cdnavater]

Doctors prescribe shit all the time. That doesn't mean we actually take them. How do they prove what medications are in your body?

The onus will be on you and I doubt it would be a doctor prescription that triggers it, it would be a pharmacy dispensing that prescription to you.
Also, if per se it was triggered by a doctor submitting a prescription electronically, which they do all the time, it’s pretty alarming that you think doctors just prescribe shit for no reason! If you are there for a reason and the doctor thinks that reason requires medication, well then they will prescribe that medication!

[digits_]

Without this new privacy disclosure, does TC not already have the right to demand you to get documents XYZ from doctors ABC or refuse your medical? Seems like this disclosure allows them to get the info themselves, potentially making it harder for some to falsify records or documents?

Not a good evolution but possibly not as earth shattering as some might fear?

[cdnavater]

Without this new privacy disclosure, does TC not already have the right to demand you to get documents XYZ from doctors ABC or refuse your medical? Seems like this disclosure allows them to get the info themselves, potentially making it harder for some to falsify records or documents?

Not a good evolution but possibly not as earth shattering as some might fear?

They have the ability to ask but don’t randomly ask for pilots records, they need a reason to ask. A buddy went to a doctor and was given a prescription for something, when he went for his annual and the CAME asked about any medications, he mentioned it. It went on his file and a short time later TC suspended his medical and he had a bunch of hoops to jump through to get it back. Under the current system, unless he disclosed it, no one would know
The prescription he was on, he could fly but had to wait a few months to see if he had any side effects, oddly the 6 months he was on it didn’t count.

[digits_]

Without this new privacy disclosure, does TC not already have the right to demand you to get documents XYZ from doctors ABC or refuse your medical? Seems like this disclosure allows them to get the info themselves, potentially making it harder for some to falsify records or documents?

Not a good evolution but possibly not as earth shattering as some might fear?

They have the ability to ask but don’t randomly ask for pilots records, they need a reason to ask. A buddy went to a doctor and was given a prescription for something, when he went for his annual and the CAME asked about any medications, he mentioned it. It went on his file and a short time later TC suspended his medical and he had a bunch of hoops to jump through to get it back. Under the current system, unless he disclosed it, no one would know
The prescription he was on, he could fly but had to wait a few months to see if he had any side effects, oddly the 6 months he was on it didn’t count.

I understand, but your issue is with the current medical rules. That this new piece of paper might make it easier to catch lying or forgetful pilots doesn't really make a strong case against it. I don't see that avenue being very successful if you're trying to fight it.

[cdnavater]

Without this new privacy disclosure, does TC not already have the right to demand you to get documents XYZ from doctors ABC or refuse your medical? Seems like this disclosure allows them to get the info themselves, potentially making it harder for some to falsify records or documents?

Not a good evolution but possibly not as earth shattering as some might fear?

They have the ability to ask but don’t randomly ask for pilots records, they need a reason to ask. A buddy went to a doctor and was given a prescription for something, when he went for his annual and the CAME asked about any medications, he mentioned it. It went on his file and a short time later TC suspended his medical and he had a bunch of hoops to jump through to get it back. Under the current system, unless he disclosed it, no one would know
The prescription he was on, he could fly but had to wait a few months to see if he had any side effects, oddly the 6 months he was on it didn’t count.

I understand, but your issue is with the current medical rules. That this new piece of paper might make it easier to catch lying or forgetful pilots doesn't really make a strong case against it. I don't see that avenue being very successful if you're trying to fight it.

I’m not, they have dug into my medical history quite extensively, I was simply pointing out the current system and the issue of why they are doing this.
I honestly see it from both sides but can’t think of a reason they shouldn’t other then some people will go on disability for a medical issue without surrendering their medical, something like surgery where the issue is temporary. Try getting your medical back after surgery once you have surrendered it, it’s ridiculously long.
I also know of a pilot who was on a medication for a condition, life long condition that he never disclosed, can’t remember the exact condition, OCD or something like that. There is a medication that is approved for his condition but it doesn’t work, he would have been flagged by this and much earlier in his career. He hasn’t flown since, it’s been years, might not fly again and his non approved medication doesn’t seem to affect him negatively. We are talking about a guy who made Captain and flew for years and years without a problem, now because of an unrelated issue while trying to get his medical back they discovered the other issue. They are literally asking for your entire medical record going back for years now before reinstating it.
Mine, initially it was 68 pages of records sent in, they flagged something completely unrelated and I had to get specialist to write letters stating they were wrong!
My prediction, there will be many pilots who will lose their medical and it will take them years to get it back over this, or the law of unintended consequences, many pilots will not seek out medical care for anything.

[TheStig]

I'd assumed this is about the Germanwings pilot whose personal medical records weren't available to the regulator. I'm sure after that tragedy every Government regulator asked themselves how they can prevent that from happening in their jurisdiction. I can't speak to the ethical or legal considerations with this policy, but where does it become overreach into personal privacy? Will this actually improve flight safety? Are there other alternatives? I don't know that using a federal regulator to solve very individual issues is the correct measure. Knowing a few pilots who have lost their medicals and how difficult, slow and bureaucratic TC can be, makes this a concern.

Stay healthy in 2026.

[Dry Guy]

That was 10 years ago.

[daedalusx]

Wouldn’t one of the unintended consequences be that some pilots will no longer trust their family doctors/pharmacists and just start self medicating? Or getting their prescription filled on a layover ?

[daedalusx]

Doctors prescribe shit all the time. That doesn't mean we actually take them. How do they prove what medications are in your body?

The onus will be on you and I doubt it would be a doctor prescription that triggers it, it would be a pharmacy dispensing that prescription to you.
Also, if per se it was triggered by a doctor submitting a prescription electronically, which they do all the time, it’s pretty alarming that you think doctors just prescribe shit for no reason! If you are there for a reason and the doctor thinks that reason requires medication, well then they will prescribe that medication!

Dude. Doctors have overprescribed SSRIs for decades and now it comes out that they’re useless compared to placebo and less effective than exercise.

Most GPs are fucking retarded, take away ChatGPT and Google and you’d find out they could barely hold a job washing cars.

“Oh you’re tired cause you work 20 days a month on a WB schedule, eating garbage food and not properly exercising? Change your lifestyle ? No no no, don’t try to diet or exercise or take time off, try these antidepressants that have suicidal ideation as a side effect”

“Oh your back hurts? Try this new synthetic opioid, it’s called OxyContin, it’s totally safe, effective and non-addictive.”

“Oh, you’ve been waiting 18 months for this hip replacement surgery, have you considered killing yourself ? The wait time for MAID is only 2 weeks”

“Oh your 12yo son likes gymnastics and figure skating? Have you considered puberty blockers, estrogen injections and gender reassignment and affirmation surgery ?”

Yeah dude, trust doctors … they never @#$! up, it’s not like med errors isn’t the 3rd leading cause of death in western countries.

[Information_Papa]

My issue is the scope of this. To have unlimited access without warrant is seemingly against the law. As in the charter should limit the government here. I'm no lawyer though.

If the cops needed to search your house, they'd need a warrant, and for that they'd need an acceptable reason. This medical disclosure, seems like cops saying having locks on the doors is a punishable offense and they don't need a warrant, or a reason.

Like if you've had a heart attack, yes they can search for heart related stuff. But they shouldn't be able to search with no limits or restrictions. A drug deemed fine today might not be tomorrow. And now you have a history of using bad prescribed drugs. Vioxx comes to mind. Perhaps ozempic tomorrow.

Transport Canada isn’t this pinnacle of medical knowledge. They're there for one thing only, take your license away. That's it. Nothing else. And these CAMEs, no matter how big their smile, are not on your side. They're out for a paycheck like anyone else. So there's plenty of ways this can go off the rails

I don't think this is fair. And I would hope this would be charter challenged, and in the meantime this gets an injunction.

[Dias]

Of course it's against the law. That's why you have to sign the paper to give up your legal rights. Then when questioned they'll say nobody forced you to sign just like they said nobody forced you to get vaccinated.

[Information_Papa]

If everyone said no. This goes away.