Captain Robert Piché joins the fight

[Gilles Hudicourt]

The English version of the Robert Piché video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k68vX3 ... ata_player

[ajet32]

Gilles and Robert thanks you for all the time and work you have put into this issue. As a former employee of one of the major users of this program I would love to see it stop. Continue the good work.

[+RA]

Excuse my ignorance, as I am an outsider in this situation, but why does it matter that Sunwing made a profit in the last year? Whether they are in the red or in the black should not dictate whether they should be able to hire foreign workers to operate these aircraft, when there are plenty of qualified Canadian workers available to do that given job. Image if all other industries were given that opportunity?

[green bastard]

Excellent videos. Thanks for the hard work and effort and keep up the pressure.

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Excuse my ignorance, as I am an outsider in this situation, but why does it matter that Sunwing made a profit in the last year? Whether they are in the red or in the black should not dictate whether they should be able to hire foreign workers to operate these aircraft, when there are plenty of qualified Canadian workers available to do that given job. Image if all other industries were given that opportunity?

It does not matter, it should not matter, you are correct. The reason it is being underlined here is the following:

The TFWP is meant to be available to companies who can demonstrate that there is a shortage of labour and that they have made a real effort to recruit or train Canadian labour.

Sunwing's argument to HRSDC and which HRSDC bought hook,sink and tackle, is that it would be unreasonable for them to be expected to have to hire and train the 119 foreign pilots that were brought in under this program, not because they could not be hired and trained, but because it would not be cost effective for them to have to hire and train 119 pilots at a cost of $40,000 each because these pilots were not needed year-round but only seasonally and would likely leave and not be available to them the following season. The relief was nevertheless provided by HRSDC which provided Sunwing to gain a commercial advantage over the completion on the backs of Canadian pilots and at the expense of the Canadian tax payer. The LMOs were in fact a form of government subsidy offered to Sunwing.

To reply to that argument and for that reason alone I explained that even even if they had been forced to hire and train those 119 Canadian pilots each year instead of being allowed to hire foreigners, they still would have made a very significant profit, which negates their argument that they should be given relief from the hiring and training requirement for such a reason.

[+RA]

Thanks Gilles for the explanation.

[Gilles Hudicourt]

The Robert Piché video had over 5000 viewers in 13 days......

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Here is the text in French. The English text is below

Bonjour, mon nom est Robert Piché, je suis un pilote de ligne canadien ayant plus de 40 années d’expérience. Il me fait plaisir de m’associer à la Coalition des pilotes canadiens contre les pilotes étrangers travaillant au Canada afin de vous présenter une courte vidéo sur le sujet.

Depuis plusieurs années certains transporteurs aériens canadiens offrant principalement des vols vers les destinations soleils font appels à des pilotes étrangers durant la haute saison hivernale. Ceci leur permet de réduire leurs couts de formation puisque les pilotes étrangers sont déjà qualifiés sur le type d’avions qu’ils utilisent, mais cette pratique se fait au détriment de centaines de pilotes de ligne canadiens qui sont en chômage et à qui on refuse ces emplois.

Normalement, ces transporteurs devraient combler leurs besoins accrus de main d’œuvre en ayant recours à des pilotes canadiens comme le font la plupart des compagnies aériennes de ce pays. L’embauche de pilotes implique des investissements importants pour les transporteurs puisque les pilotes doivent recevoir une formation spécifique au type d’avion utilisé, formation qui peut s’élever à plusieurs dizaines de milliers de dollars par pilote. C’est ce que l’on appelle la qualification sur type. Par exemple un pilote de ligne ayant une qualification sur le Boeing 747 et des milliers d’heures de vols à son actif n’est pas autorisé à piloter un Boeing 737 à moins qu’il ait suivi la formation requise. La pratique établie dans l’industrie est la suivante : les pilotes obtiennent leurs licences de pilote professionnelle en suivant leur formation dans des institutions privées ou publiques et en accumulant les heures de vols requises et les transporteurs aériens défraient les couts de formation spécifique au type d’avion qu’ils utilisent.

Mais voilà que depuis quelques années, certaines compagnies ont recours au stratagème suivant afin de ne pas avoir à payer pour la formation de leurs pilotes: au lieu d’embaucher des pilotes canadiens, elles ont recours à des pilotes européens qui sont déjà qualifiés sur le type d’appareil qu’elles utilisent. Elles n’éprouvent aucun problème à recruter ces pilotes étrangers puisque l’hiver est la saison morte pour les vols vacances en Europe. Cette pratique est rendue possible grâce à la complicité de plusieurs paliers du gouvernement fédéral qui valident les licences et octroie des permis de travail à ces étrangers pendant que des pilotes de ligne canadiens qui pourraient occuper ces emplois sont au chômage.

Grâce à ce stratagème, plus de 200 pilotes étrangers ont été aux commandes d’avions canadiens sur des vols entre le Canada et les destinations soleils au cours des hivers 2011-2012 et 2012-2013. Selon nos informations cette main d’œuvre étrangère ne paie pas d’impôt au Canada, ne contribue pas à l'assurance emploi pas plus qu'à l'assurance vieillesse. Pourtant, la règlementation canadienne exige que ces travailleurs contribuent à ces programmes et fassent une déclaration d’impôt. Pendant ce temps, les pilotes canadiens qui ont été incapables de se faire embaucher par ces compagnies faute de qualification sur type, reçoivent des prestations d’assurance- chômage au frais des contribuables canadiens.

Vous vous demandez peut-être pourquoi le gouvernement fédéral qui régit le transport aérien accepte une telle pratique? Nous aussi.

Je vais maintenant aborder la question sous l’angle de la règlementation aérienne canadienne en matière de licence de pilote.

Les pilotes étrangers qui volent des avions canadiens sont soumis au règlement de l’aviation canadien. Ce règlement exige que le pilote détienne une licence canadienne pour être aux commandes d’un avion commerciale enregistré au Canada. L’obtention d’une telle licence demande beaucoup d’études et de temps puisque le pilote doit réussir plusieurs examens écrits sur la navigation, la météo et la règlementation. Or les pilotes étrangers n’ont pas de licences canadiennes. Transports Canada leur émet un certificat de validation de licence étrangère valide pour une année. Pourtant, la règlementation est claire : les certificats de validation de licence étrangère ne sont émis que pour des utilisations restreintes tel que vols récréatifs, de formation, de convoyage ou de lutte aux incendies et ne permettent pas au détenteurs d’effectuer des vols réguliers commerciaux. Nous avons signalés cette situation à Transports Canada en novembre 2012 par le biais du système de signalement des questions de l’aviation civile et à ce jour nous n’avons obtenus aucune réponse ou accusé de réception. Transports Canada, l’agence gouvernementale responsable de l’application de la loi, ferme les yeux sur sa propre règlementation et laisse ces compagnies exploiter des vols commerciaux avec des pilotes étrangers qui n’ont pas de licence canadienne.

Un autre aspect du dossier est le principe de réciprocité.

La compagnie qui utilise le plus grand nombre de pilotes étranger abuse d'un programme administré par Immigration Canada appelé le programme de réciprocité. Il s'agit d'un programme en vertu duquel des étrangers sont autorisés à venir travailler au Canada si en contrepartie la compagnie Canadienne qui les embauche a une entente avec une compagnie étrangère afin de permettre à un nombre égal de Canadiens d’aller travailler une période équivalente à l'étranger. La ligne aérienne qui abuse du programme fait croire à Immigration Canada qu'elle envoie des pilotes Canadiens travailler en Europe chaque année alors qu'il n'en est rien. Elle envoie effectivement quelques dizaines de pilotes à l'étranger, mais ce n'est pas pour travailler pour des compagnies étrangères, comme l’exige le règlement mais c'est plutôt pour travailler aux commandes d'avions de la compagnie canadienne qui se trouvent à l'étranger. En échange, et ce depuis des années, Immigration Canada a permis à des centaines de pilotes étrangers de venir au Canada et de piloter des avions de la firme canadienne. C'est contraire aux règlements et nous avons avisé toutes parties concernées, mais contre toute attente, la pratique continue de plus belle.

La Coalition demande aux autorités fédérales de mettre immédiatement fin à cette pratique. Une pétition de 2500 pilotes travaillant partout au pays a été signée et remise au ministre de l’immigration au printemps 2012. Les associations de pilotes ont fait des représentations auprès des autorités fédérales mais jusqu’à présent les résultats sont mitigés.

Cette vidéo a été produite afin que le grand public connaisse la situation et soit sensibilisé au problème. La prochaine fois que vous réserverez un billet d’avion pour un voyage dans le sud, posez la question suivante à votre agent de voyage ou directement à la compagnie aérienne : Est-ce que le transporteur aérien sur lequel je voyagerai a recourt à des pilotes étrangers ? Dans l’affirmative vous serez en mesure de faire un choix éclairé et de considérer les alternatives. Aujourd’hui cette injustice menace notre profession. Est-ce que demain ce sera la vôtre ?

Je vous remercie de m’avoir écouté et je vous encourage à communiquer avec les gens de la Coalition pour toutes questions ou commentaires.

Here is the text in English

Hello, my name is Robert Piché, I am a Canadian airline pilot with more than 40 years of experience flying in Canada. I am honoured to join the Coalition of Canadian Pilots Against Foreign Pilots Working in Canada to make this short video in order to share our concerns with you.

Over the last few years, some Canadian carriers that operate flights mainly to southern sun destinations have been hiring foreign pilots to operate a large number of these flights during the winter season. This allows them to reduce their training costs since foreign pilots are already qualified on the aircraft type they use, but this comes at the expense of hundreds of Canadian pilots who are unemployed and who are denied these jobs.

Normally, these carriers should address their increased need for pilots by hiring additional Canadian pilots, which is the common practice among Canadian airlines. The hiring of a pilot involves a significant investment for an airline as the pilot must receive training specific to the type of aircraft flown by the airline. Training can cost several tens of thousands of dollars. This training is what we call a type rating. For example, an airline pilot qualified on the Boeing 747 along with several thousand hours of flight time in his logbook, is not allowed to fly a Boeing 737 unless he has completed the necessary training. The established practice in the industry regarding pilot training is that pilots obtain their commercial licences thru private or public training and once they are hired it is the airlines that provides and pays for the type rating required for the operation of their aircrafts.

Over the last few years some companies in Canada have found a way to avoid paying for the type rating. Instead of hiring Canadian pilots and training them, they simply contract European pilots already qualified on the type of aircraft they operate. They have no problems recruiting these foreign pilots since winter is the slower season in Europe and a large number of pilots are available there. This practice is made possible thanks to the complicity of several levels of the federal government that validate licenses and grant work permits to foreigners even though there are Canadian airline pilots who could fill those positions who are currently unemployed.

Under this scheme, more than 200 foreign pilots were flying Canadian registered aircraft on flights between Canada and southern vacation destinations during the past winters of 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. It is important to know that, according to our information, during their temporary assignment here in Canada, these foreign pilots do not pay taxes in Canada, do not contribute to employment insurance, nor to the Canada Pension Plan. Regardless of the fact that Canadian rules require that these workers contribute to these programs and file a Canadian tax return. Meanwhile, Canadian pilots who were unable to get hired by these companies for simply not having the type rating, are collecting unemployment insurance at the expense of you, the Canadian Tax payer.

You may be wondering why the federal government, who governs the airline industry, accepts such a practice? So are we.

Lets now look at the issue of how the Canadian Aviation regulations deal with the subject of pilot licensing.

According the Canadian Aviation Regulations all pilots flying a commercial Canadian registered aircraft must hold a Canadian licence. Obtaining this license requires a lot of study and time since the pilot must pass several written exams on subjects as diverse as navigation, weather and air regulations. The foreign pilots who come to Canada for the winter do not have Canadian licenses. Transport Canada issues them a Foreign License Validation Certificate valid for one year. However, the regulations clearly state that holders of a Foreign Licence Validation Certificate may only fly for limited purposes such as recreational flying, ferry flights, flight training or firefighting and the rules do not permit the holder to operate scheduled commercial flights. We reported this to Transport Canada in November 2012 by means of the Civil Aviation Issues Reporting System and didn’t receive any responses to our concerns. It seems that Transport Canada, the government agency responsible for enforcing the law, ignores its own regulations and lets these companies operate commercial flights flown by foreign pilots who do not hold a Canadian license. These flights carry you and your fellow Canadians to your winter holiday destinations!

Another aspect of the case is the principle of reciprocity.

The company employing the highest number of foreign pilots also takes advantage of a program administered by Immigration Canada, called the reciprocal work permit program. This is a program under which foreigners are allowed to work in Canada if the Canadian company hiring them has an agreement with a foreign company to employ an equal number of Canadians to work abroad for an equivalent time period.

The airline that is abusing this program led Immigration Canada to believe some of their Canadian pilots go fly in Europe for European carriers every year when it is not actually the case. While it does send some pilots to Europe, they are not employed by a foreign company as required by the regulations. They remain employees of the Canadian carrier since they are operating a Canadian registered aircraft on lease to the European carrier. As a result of being misled Immigration Canada has permitted hundreds of foreign pilots to come to Canada and fly the planes of this Canadian airline. It is against the rules and we notified all parties concerned, but the practice continues today unabated.

The Coalition is asking federal authorities to put an immediate end to this practice. A petition singed by 2,500 pilots working across the country was delivered to the Minister of Immigration in Spring 2012. Various pilot Associations have also lobbied federal authorities but so far there is little to show for all the efforts.

We decided to produce this video so that the Canadian public would be aware of the situation and informed about the problem. The next time you book a ticket for your southern getaway, please ask your travel agent to make sure that if you are flying with a Canadian carrier, that you are flying with one that employs only Canadian pilots. If you are booking directly with the airline, don’t hesitate to ask them the same question. Their answer will allow you to make an informed choice and possibly to make alternative plans for your travels.

Thank you for your time, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments.

[whipline]

The poster boy for aviation safety in Canada has spoken. As a side note the pilots from Eastern Europe are now working on a video explaining why Canadians will be safer with them at the controls. French version shortly

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Bob lent his celebrity status to help deliver a serious message on a serious subject that should be of concern to all pilots.

It's much safer to comment on Bob himself, or on his his tie, or his hairstyle than to comment on his message.

[AGA-Présient]

Bob lent his celebrity status to help deliver a serious message on a serious subject that should be of concern to all pilots.

It's much safer to comment on Bob himself, or on his his tie, or his hairstyle than to comment on his message.

So true!!!

[confusedalot]

is at at all possible to stop using the very boring and tedious deflection tactics that our mainline politicians of our wonderful federation use time and time again, and bore us to death about hairstyles and ties, and finally answer the question?

shoot straight, it always makes better scores. don't care about your hair or your tie, do care about what you are truly attempting to accomplish. I mean, what you are really trying to accomplish.

[Cap'n P8]

He's lobbying for:
A. The government to start following the law as its written, instead of bending it however it suits them.
B. The government to start looking after its own citizens first who are more than capable of doing the job, instead of throwing them under the bus (see A above).