Today I received a reply to a request I made to TC under the Access to Information Act.
I had asked to see what "purposes" had been entered into the TC database for all the Foreign Licence Validation Certificates issued for Canjet and Sunwing pilots for 2011 and 2012. The reply arrived today.
Let's first look at the Regulation:
Validation of Foreign Licences
401.07 (1) Subject to section 6.71 of the Act, if the holder of a foreign flight crew licence issued by a contracting state other than Canada meets the applicable requirements set out in the personnel licensing standards and does not reside in Canada, the Minister shall, on receipt of an application submitted in the form and manner set out in those standards, issue a foreign licence validation certificate to the holder of the licence.
(amended 2008/05/01; previous version)
(2) The Minister shall, in accordance with the personnel licensing standards, specify in a foreign licence validation certificate the privileges that may be exercised by the holder of the certificate.
Subparagraph 1 and 2 for make reference to the
standard
Let's see what the standard says.
CAR 421.07 (2) list 10 "purposes" for which a FLVC may me issued. Here they are.
421.07 (2) Purposes For Which Foreign Licence Validation Certificates May Be Issued
(a) for the holder to undergo a flight test;
(b) for private recreational flying;
(c) for ferry of an aircraft registered in Canada to or from a foreign country;
(d) for the holder to give type rating training on an aircraft registered in Canada to the registered owner, or to Canadian flight crew employed by the registered owner;
(e) for the holder to receive training in a Canadian registered aircraft;
(f) for operation of aircraft registered in a foreign state under the operating certificate of a Canadian carrier provided that the privileges are limited to the type of aircraft being operated;
(g) for operation of Canadian aircraft on Canadian commercial air services in urgent circumstances; such as fire suppression operations, emergency agricultural and forestry aerial application, airlift in relief of domestic natural disasters, and search and rescue operations;
(h) for commercial air services operated entirely within a foreign country where pilots holding a licence from that country may have their licence validated for operation of Canadian registered aircraft in that country;
(i) for the operation of aircraft registered in Canada on lease to foreign carriers;
(j) for reasons other than those mentioned above where approval may be given if, in the opinion of the Minister, it is in the public interest and not likely to affect aviation safety.
CAR 42107 (1) states that a FLVC applicant must submit a letter specifying the "purpose" for which he/she is applying for a FLVC. Here is that regulation. One would think that such a purpose would be the specific ones listed in 421.07 (2).
421.07 Validation of Foreign Licences
(1) Issue of Foreign Licence Validation Certificate
(a) A Foreign Licence Validation Certificate shall be issued to an applicant who provides the following:
(ii) a letter requesting issue of the Foreign Licence Validation Certificate and specifying the purpose for which the foreign licence is to be validated.
The reply I received from TC today indicates that all FLVC issued to foreign licenced pilots for Canjet and Sunwing had, as a "purpose" in the TC database, the purpose "Commercial".
Where is "commercial" listed anywhere in 421.07 (2) ? It isn't.
Lets look at SI 400-005, the guidance document to issue FLVCs.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this Staff Instruction (SI) is to provide standardization and guidance for the issuance of a Foreign Licence Validation Certificate (FLVC) in accordance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).
Really ?
The following definitions and abbreviations are used in this document:
(b) Commercial Purpose: flying operations conducted by an air operator, as defined in Subpart 401 of the CARs and in accordance with subsection 421.07(2) of the Standard (STD); and
Is that so ?
BACKGROUND
(2) Flight crew licences issued by a contracting state of ICAO may be validated for use in Canadian registered aircraft by obtaining a Canadian FLVC
in accordance with sections 401.07 of the CARs and 421.07 of the STD
.
Better and better.....
Here is the best yet:
4.0 CONDITIONS
(6)
A FLVC is issued for specific purposes, in accordance with subsection 421.07(2)
of the STD and is subject to any purpose or restriction specified on the FLVC.
That means the specific purposes listed in (a) to (j) of 421.07 (2) doesn't it. Does anyone here see any "Commercial" as any of the listed purposes ?
4.0 CONDITIONS
(9) A FLVC shall not be issued if the applicant:
(a) Does not meet all the requirements of sections 401.07 of the CARs and 421.07 of the STD;
Such as not having listed for reason to apply, one of the specific purposes of 421.07 (2) in the application letter, as required by 421.07 (1) (a) (ii).
Edit. My guest left. Below is the rest of the post.
5.2 Documents Required for a Commercial Application
(2) In addition to the above, the air operator must include a written statement containing the following information:
(e) A brief explanation why the holder of a Canadian flight crew licence cannot be used.
I dare anyone to search the CARs and find the origin of that requirement. If you find it, you will also find the regulation that says that foreign licenced pilots are not allowed to fly commercially in Canada
6.2 Entering Information and Restrictions
(5) In the “Purpose” field, select the appropriate purpose for the FLVC, from the drop down menu.
It is this line that prompted me to make the request this post is about
