Medical Certificate Processing Fees

[shimmydampner]

There was a thread on this topic some time ago. Personally, I never pay the fee. I think it's an example of government-sanctioned theft. If the guys running the legalized stealing scheme think I'm going to make it easy for them by just dropping a cheque in the mail, they're nuts.

[B52]

Not paying your medical fee will result in a entry on your credit rating and there will be a hold placed
on any future tax refund until it is recovered.

I would "suspect" that it would probably also stop you getting your next medical processed.

[esp803]

I'm with Shimmy on this one. Got my Notice today for 165... so I guess it's been three years since I've paid. It's yet to go to collections or off my taxes and it hasn't stopped me from getting more medicals. Nothing but a shameless money grab.

E

[CD]

There have been quite a few threads on this topic over the years... I think the longest was the following:

AvCanada: TC sends Collection Agency after me

Somewhere in that thread, I also posted some of the history and that we did have the opportunity to debate and provide information regarding the fees if you were either a member of, or represented by a group that was part of the Regulatory Services Fees Technical Committee back in the 1990's:

The members of the Regulatory Services Fees Technical Committee of CARAC include Aero Club of Canada, Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, Air Canada, Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association (Atlantic) Inc., Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association - Canada, Air Transport Association of Canada, Association québécoise des transporteurs aériens inc., Aviation Québec, British Columbia Aviation Council, Calgary Flying Club, Canada 3000 Airlines - Pilots Association, Canadian Airlines International, Canadian Air Line Pilots Association, Canadian Association of Aviation Colleges, Canadian Business Aircraft Association, Canadian Helicopters Ltd., Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, Canadian Transportation Agency, Central AME Association, Diamond Aircraft Industries, Experimental Aircraft Association - Canadian Council, Fantasy Sky Promotions, Helicopter Association of Canada, Home Aviation, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, International Council of Air Shows, Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association of Canada, Northern Air Transport Association, Phoenix Aviation Resources, Pratt and Whitney Canada Inc., Shuswap Air, Soaring Association of Canada, Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada, and Union of Canadian Transport Employees.

As a member of the general public, you also usually have the opportunity to provide comment on any regulation proposed by the Federal Government when it is published in the Canada Gazette. In the case of the fees charged, they have existed for years so I'm not sure when they were first introduced. The earliest publication that I have found online is old Air Regulation 820, which references a Schedule 1 where the fees at the time were:

Issue of a licence validation certificate for

(a) a commercial pilot or airline transport pilot
(i) for a six-month period - $45
(ii) for a one-year period - $70

(b) a private pilot, balloon pilot or glider pilot
(i) for a one-year period - $50
(ii) for a two-year period - $85
(iii) for a five-year period - $185

Old Air Regulations - Part VIII

When the fees were revised in 1997, we all missed the boat as the regulatory change document records the following information:

Consultation

Part I, Subpart 4 (Charges) was prepublished in Canada Gazette, Part I on 2 August 1997. Fewer than twenty comments were received many of which have been taken into account in the revisions to this regulation and its accompanying fee schedule...

RIAS Archive Files - Subpart 104 96-433 October 2, 1996
RIAS Archive Files - Subpart 104 97-542 December 24, 1997

When the fees were revised again in 2000, the public comment period was omitted as the regulatory change appears to have been published directly in the Canada Gazette, Part II:

Currently, Schedule IV to Subpart 4, item 20, lists a separate fee for the processing of a medical certificate for each combination of type of pilot licence or permit and for each validity period. The validity period is the maximum amount of time that a pilot may fly before he/she must again satisfy the Department of Transport that he/she continues to satisfy the medical criteria for the applicable licence or permit. These validity periods vary according to the type of licence or permit held and the age of the applicant. For example, the validity period for a commercial or airline transport pilot under 40 years old is 12 months while that for a commercial or airline transport pilot 40 or over is 6 months. On the other hand, the validity period for a recreational pilot permit may be either 2 years (for a pilot aged 40 or older) or 5 years (for a pilot younger than 40). In total, there are 14 separate combinations of pilot documents and validity periods for which a fee is charged for the processing of a medical certificate. The fees range from a low of $55, generally for a 6 month or a 12 month validity period, to $185, for a 5-year validity period. These fees were intended to recover not only the costs of processing medical certificates but also the costs of other services provided to pilots without charge, such as safety publications.

Over the coming year, Transport Canada intends to make many of its publications available on the Internet free of charge. Included in this plan are many of the safety publications provided to pilots. The costs of producing and mailing safety publications to pilots will significantly diminish. Consequently, the justification for higher fees based on the length of the medical certificate validity period diminishes as well.

This amendment will replace the 14 separate combinations of pilot documents and validity periods and the 4 alternative fees with a single fee for the processing of pilot medical certificates, regardless of the type of licence or permit held or of the length of the validity period. The new fee will be the lowest of the current 4 alternative possibilities, i.e., $55 for the processing of a medical certificate. Those pilots currently paying $55 for the processing of their medical certificates will continue to pay $55. Those pilots who currently pay more than $55 will realize a reduction of between $15 and $130 in the fees they pay under this proposal.

Consultation

The proposal to simplify the fees listed under CAR 104.01, Schedule IV, item 20 to a single fee of $55 was discussed at the Personnel Licensing and Training Technical Committee of the Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC) on March 28, 2000. Also discussed at that Technical Committee meeting was the proposal to fast-track this amendment by proceeding directly to final approval and publication in Part II of the Canada Gazette. The fast-tracking of this amendment is considered necessary to ensure equitable treatment of all pilots. New validity periods will be coming into force shortly and some of these do not have an existing fee for processing the medical certificate. Without the simplified fee structure, or some other similar regulatory amendment which would include these new validity periods, pilots subject to these new validity periods would not be subject to any medical certificate fee. This would result in some pilots being subject to fees for processing of their medical certificates and others not. Proceeding with the simplified, consolidated fee structure as soon as possible will avoid this inequitable situation.

At the Technical Committee meeting, Transport Canada committed to developing a brochure to explain the new simplified fee structure for distribution to aviation personnel. As well, notice of the proposed change will be placed in the July 13, 2000 Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) to be sent to all pilots.

Industry representatives present during the Technical Committee meeting included participants from the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), from the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) and from the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC). The members of the Technical Committee indicated their support for the proposal to fast-track the publication of amendment to CAR 104.01, Schedule IV, item 20 which will address the simplified fee structure. These members have also agreed to participate in communicating the details of the fee simplification and to prepare information articles for publication in trade magazines and newsletters.

RIAS Archive Files - Canada Gazette, Part II (Subpart 104 - July 5, 2000)

[cdnpilot77]

I'm with Shimmy on this one. Got my Notice today for 165... so I guess it's been three years since I've paid. It's yet to go to collections or off my taxes and it hasn't stopped me from getting more medicals. Nothing but a shameless money grab.

E

I got a notice from the CRA yesterday basically saying pay the TC bill or it's coming out of your 2013 tax refund.

[Beefitarian]

I realize I'm probably some sort of socialist kiss up but.. I just pay the money and move on.

[Colonel Sanders]

I haven't paid the $55 tax in many years.

Here how it works. TC told us that the $55 medical tax
was to pay for our AIP paper amendments. TC would
never, ever lie to us.

However TC stopped mailing out AIP amendments but
"forgot" to get rid of the $55 medical tax. An honest
oversight, I am sure

When TC starts mailing out paper AIP amendments again,
I will start paying my $55 medical tax again.

I am happy to discuss this at the Tribunal, Tribunal Review,
Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeals or Tax Court, whichever
is deemed most appropriate. I have represented myself
many times at all of the above, and am happy to do so again.

[AirFrame]

Personally i'd be happier to see the fuel tax that's supposed to pay for air navigation services rescinded, as it's sure as h*ll not going to NavCanada.

[AirFrame]

Here how it works. TC told us that the $55 medical tax was to pay for our AIP paper amendments. TC would never, ever lie to us.

I don't doubt this... But do you have a reference to it somewhere? Like some old paper from TC that explains where your money goes, that kind of thing?

[lilflyboy262]

Just be glad that you aren't in New Zealand. My last medical there cost over $700. And that was just a renewal with none of the stuff like ECGs, Audiograms or chest xrays.
They whacked on a $350 fee a year or so ago, and you have to pay this BEFORE you can get your medical.

[Colonel Sanders]

do you have a reference

I will look around. I have a stack of AIP
amendments that I haven't gotten around
to inserting yet - I will start there.

[carbeerater]

Maybe I'm weird, but I actually liked the AIP... especially getting and inserting all the amendments.

It was a good opportunity to see any changes and review other info, BRING BACK THE AIP!

Why they couldn't come up with the same system for the CFS and CAP is beyond me . If you got all three for $55/yr it would be a steal

[Optimus Primer]

Add me to the list of people not giving in to TC's annual "bend over and take it" fee.

[Beefitarian]

Well, you guys carry on "fighting the good fight."

Paul Martin, Brian Mulroony and all the rest probably including Steve will get their entitlements financed somehow.

It's not that I disagree with your principles. I just don't have the desire to have to fight with other departments after getting flagged for trying to save far less than pennies a day.

Seems a bit like the time I was talking about landing at Catalina Island, a few separate people at the FTU gasped, then said, "You don't want to do that. There's a $20 landing fee!"

I may never come back there. Twenty bucks would have been a bargain to step foot on that spot and take a breath of the sea breeze to me. Say la vee.

[Colonel Sanders]

Beef: I don't fault you for having a very common "Canadian"
attitude towards bad government - that there is nothing you
can do about it, so don't do anything.

[5x5]

I'm having a bit of trouble seeing how withholding a fee that is clearly identified and recognized as part of the system is "doing something" as it relates to changing anything about the government and its approach to dealing with aviation.

How long have you been refusing to pay and how much change has happened as a result? Isn't one definition of insanity "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"?

[Beefitarian]

Well I do somethings. Unlike most people I vote. I just don't pee in the ocean and think, "Ha! That'll lurn em."

[Colonel Sanders]

5x5: I ain't telling you what to do, or whom to vote for.

If you don't like what I do, well, I hope it doesn't stop
you from getting to sleep tonight.

[Gilles Hudicourt]

I'm with Shimmy on this one. Got my Notice today for 165... so I guess it's been three years since I've paid. It's yet to go to collections or off my taxes and it hasn't stopped me from getting more medicals. Nothing but a shameless money grab.

E

I got a notice from the CRA yesterday basically saying pay the TC bill or it's coming out of your 2013 tax refund.

Why doesn't the CRA ask the foreign pilots to pay taxes instead of harassing those that pay for more money. I recently found out that the parking spot my employer provides to us at the airport for when we are at work it is taxable income.....

[Beefitarian]

Well you guys got me. I just put more energy into thinking about this than it's worth.

Excellent work all around. Maybe later I'll celebrate by buying some gasoline and paying more in one transaction.*










* provided the wife's Avalanche needs a full tank. I would protest that by riding a bicycle or horse but I got married instead, so I guess I'm city folk.

[MIQ]

I'm on your side with this one, Beef. At first I was a little upset about that $55 fee as well and I didn't pay for a half a year. Mostly because I forgot about it, but then I got more and more letters coming in reminding me about the money that I owed to Transport Canada. At some point I decided to pay. It's just another $55 to the government, what does it matter at this point anymore? Just leave me alone with all your letters reminding me The only thing that actually pissed me off is, that when I tried to pay, the link for online payment that was provided with the letter didn't seem to work. So I had to call and make a payment over the phone which was a little bit of a hassle and quite time consuming.

[Colonel Sanders]

parking spot ... is taxable income

Yeah, at my last company they declared that the
coffee was a taxable benefit. I don't drink coffee.

[Beefitarian]

I get crabby about it and understand not paying. It's like shooting one of those crooks.. There might be satisfaction in it but... You would not change anything and you might get in trouble even though you did something arguably right

[gustind]

So I was looking into the CARs and I have a question. This is the fee schedule:

21. Processing, by an employee of the Department of Transport, of a medical certificate in respect of a pilot licence or a pilot permit other than a student pilot permit $55

1) Do ATCs get the $55 fee?
2) Next time I go renew my medical, can I renew it with the intention of getting a gyroplane SPP? IOW, where it says Type of Permit desired in this link here, can I put Gyroplane SPP? The CAT1 would coincidentally renew my current licence at the same time .

Thoughts?

[kevenv]

So I was looking into the CARs and I have a question. This is the fee schedule:

21. Processing, by an employee of the Department of Transport, of a medical certificate in respect of a pilot licence or a pilot permit other than a student pilot permit $55

1) Do ATCs get the $55 fee?
2) Next time I go renew my medical, can I renew it with the intention of getting a gyroplane SPP? IOW, where it says Type of Permit desired in this link here, can I put Gyroplane SPP? The CAT1 would coincidentally renew my current licence at the same time .

Thoughts?

ATC doesn't pay the fee for the Cat 2 medical. Every now and then TC screws up and sends some people a bill but it's fixed with an email or phone call.