Alberta Gov't Air Service

[W0X0F]

We all know about Princess Alison's abuses but here is my next thought....



"The PC party said it will reimburse the government $6,500 for three flights Saher found Redford took solely for party purposes."

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/08/07 ... 57177.html

Sounds like reward or hire to me. Is there a new 703/705 outfit in CYEG?


Transport Canada
View Operator Details
Contact Information
File Number:
10477
Region:
PRAIRIE AND NORTHERN
Legal Name
PROVINCE OF ALBERTA, AIR TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
Trade Name:
Address:
430 Terrace Building
EDMONTON AB T5K 2C3
ALBERTA
Telephone:
780 427-7341
Fax:
780 643-1760
Telex:
Cellular:
Internet:
Details
Float Operator:
No
Dangerous Goods:
No
Air Operator Certificate Status:
APPROVED
Prefered Language:
English
Aircraft Types
Aircraft Type Maximum Weight (lbs) Canadian Aviation Regulation (CAR) VFR OTT VFR Night IFR Passenger Cargo
BEECH 200 B200 604 No No Yes No No
BEECH 300 UNDESIGNATED SERIES 604 No No Yes No No
DE HAVILLAND DHC8 100 604 No No Yes No No

[Ricktye]

No..... Internal budgeting only. Used by most corporations and 604 operations.

[W0X0F]

PC Party would be an external, and now that they got caught, paying customer having purchased air transportation. Just another one of those pesky rules to get around I guess.

[ahramin]

Various levels of government and law enforcement tend to have an understanding that the rules don't apply to them. There is no way TC would touch this with a 10 foot pole.

It does bring up the question for the rest of the private aircraft though. What about the rare CEO that actually reimburses the company for personal trips? What about a personal trip that gets reimbursed that also has non company passengers on board? What about a reimbursed personal trip that only has non company passengers on board?

[W0X0F]

Various levels of government and law enforcement tend to have an understanding that the rules don't apply to them. There is no way TC would touch this with a 10 foot pole.

And that there is exactly where good governance breaks down. Everyone is equal under the law except government officials or agencies, they are more equal than others.

[culver10]

If I were a pilot, ame or anyone else working for this operation, I would be looking at options for another job. They, of course, have most likely done a great job and nothing wrong, but the stunned, self entitled, egomaniac bitch who ran our province has screwed the pouch for this operation. There is now a huge target on this operation.

[Big Pistons Forever]

If I were a pilot, ame or anyone else working for this operation, I would be looking at options for another job. They, of course, have most likely done a great job and nothing wrong, but the stunned, self entitled, egomaniac bitch who ran our province has screwed the pouch for this operation. There is now a huge target on this operation.

Sadly I think you are right. Eliminating this service is probably job 1 for who ever wins the race for the leadership.

[it'sme]

No..... Internal budgeting only. Used by most corporations and 604 operations

Incorrect as previously stated. The PC Party of Alberta is not part of The Crown in The Right of The Province of Alberta and therefore falls outside the scope permitted under 604 internal cost recovery actions. This dilemma has cropped up in several provincial gov't flight departments over the years. The PC Party will be quietly told that the gov't is unable to accept monies for reimbursement of flights from non-Crown entities. This scenario has also cropped up in "private" 604 operations in recent years. Corporations opting to give a lift to a politician(s) when they had an aircraft going that way anyway, the CBC getting all exercised and hysterical about it when it becomes public and the embarrassed politician or their party attempting to reimburse the company only to be quietly told by said company(s) that "sorry, we aren't able to accept your money".

But from a public consumption point of view, the job has been done. The headline has played out that the public coffers will be reimbursed and really, who is going to scrutinize whether that was really done or not? The media? They barely recognize an airplane two out of three times.

The sad part is whether you support any particular politician or not, of any political stripe, the politicians themselves are often not to blame for these kinds of debacles. Rather, it's the political flunkies/staff that they surround themselves with who often care more about increasing their own capital in the eyes of their political masters in the form of "look what I can make happen for you" rather than doing what they should be doing which is protecting their boss from decisions by somebody that ultimately leads to these kinds of stories. And yes, it can be argued that the buck stops at the top and in an ideal world that would be true........it just ain't reality.....but it is the political price that we as a society exact.

[Carrier]

This topic is no longer just on an aviation forum that the general public does not view. Today's editorial in the Medicine Hat News has opened it up to general scrutiny by the public, opposition politicians, regulatory agencies, police and auditors. Various people have some answers to provide.

What have the accountable executives of Alberta Government Air Services got to say? As "accountable executives" they are just that - accountable! They are responsible for ensuring that their air operation operates legally and in full compliance with all laws and regulations, apart from any safety aspects. Was nobody minding the shop?

Where was the Transport Canada regulatory oversight? Again, was nobody minding the shop? The refusal of Transport Canada to answer whether it is looking into the Alberta situation looks suspicious. Is something being covered up?

If the subject flights were illegal or had an element of illegality did that by extension invalidate the operator's insurance?

Who actually accepted the payments? After all the kerfuffle about wrongdoing and misuse of public assets - which after all is what the original fuss was about and why the refund payments were made - one would expect all parties involved to check carefully beforehand to ensure that all their subsequent actions were legal.

http://medicinehatnews.com/commentary/o ... ta-tories/


Flights of fancy dog Alberta Tories
BY MEDICINE HAT NEWS OPINON ON AUGUST 22, 2014.

Personal flights in Alberta government aircraft for which revenue is collected appears to contravene Alberta’s air transport license issued by Transport Canada.
“The Government of Alberta is registered as a Private Air Operator,” said a spokesperson for Transport Canada this week. “A Registered Private Operator is authorized to transport non-revenue passengers and goods. A Private Operator cannot operate for hire and reward.”
We already know revenue has been collected for a number of Alberta government flights — not initially but when the personal use of government aircraft was exposed in the media.
In the Auditor General Merwan Saher’s report, made public at the beginning of the month, there is confirmation former premier Alison Redford paid back $14,992 for the government aircraft charter she took to and from Ottawa when travelling to South Africa for the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. Another $1,532 was paid for travel by her daughter and her daughter’s friends, and $1,624 for a charter to Vancouver to attend a family funeral.
That would make those technically “revenue flights.”
The PC party has also agreed to reimburse government for charters that were for partisan purposes, where elected officials made use of the government aircraft charter to attend a PC party event.
“Transport Canada requires private air operators to register with the department and comply with the Canadian Aviation Regulations,” said a spokesperson for Transport Canada.
Whether Transport Canada is looking into the Alberta situation is not known.
Transport Canada has refused to answer that question.
So the very thing that was meant to kill all controversy about private use of government aircraft, just pay the money back and be done with it, could be tipping the scales in the direction of contravening Transport Canada’s regulations.
This week the government announced it will pay more attention to the appropriate use of the government fleet.
“Each of us knows the rules and it is up to each of us to make sure that we are adhering to those rules at all times — whether we’re taking planes we’re talking travel expenses or anything,” said Premier Dave Hancock.
The problem is Albertans thought they could rely on elected officials to do just that and then discovered they could not.
Talk is cheap at this point, believing and seeing is all together different, especially when it looks as though Transport Canada’s air operators license conditions have been contravened.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to http://medicinehatnews.com/opinions)

[RatherBeFlying]

July 2 I was at Pincher Creek when a Bombardier Global Express C-GDPF landed and taxied to the apron. Two Cadillac Escalades showed up and it seems two couples boarded. The registration belongs to I.M.P. Group Ltd, a Montreal aviation management company which I suspect runs jets for federal cabinet ministers and other higher ups.

C-GDPF departed for YYC where it likely picked others on their way to YOW.

Methinks a round trip in C-GDPF between Pincher Ck. and YOW would come close in cost to the total of Redford's trips in the King Airs.

Put another way: Compared to the feds, Redford's aviation costs look pretty cheap.

[Whiskey25]

You'd be wrong if you thought I.M.P. was flying Federal Gov't ministers or "higher ups".

[longjon]

Does 412 Sqd still do the VIP flying?

[W0X0F]

Carrier is 100% correct. To quote:

"What have the accountable executives of Alberta Government Air Services got to say? As "accountable executives" they are just that - accountable! They are responsible for ensuring that their air operation operates legally and in full compliance with all laws and regulations, apart from any safety aspects. Was nobody minding the shop?"

This fiasco needs to stick like stink to the accountable executive, Doug Horner. I too feel for the workers there as culver10 does because they will be the politically expendable.

Transport needs to be seen acting here. I have very little respect for Transport anyway but if they do not single out Government of Alberta ATS, primarily the minister responsible, for operating a chisel charter operation when the Auditor General clearly lays out that that is what is happening would demonstrate how TC is biased in it's enforcement actions.

[Doctor Evil]

It is hard to imagine that a bunch of politicians know much about the Private Operator program. Transport Canada is so short on manpower that the Wildrose Party will probably be in power before this gets looked into.

[George Taylor]

The media has only scratched the surface with the Alberta GOV air farce.
The Director of Flight Operations was the chair for the CBAA
http://www.cbaa-acaa.ca/en/about/executive-committee
I don't' ever recall seeing anywhere in the media that discussed the Slave Lake fires, and the reason why the Government Dash sat in the hangar while forestry had to charter from other operators. Very miss managed.

[ScudRunner]

July 2 I was at Pincher Creek when a Bombardier Global Express C-GDPF landed and taxied to the apron. Two Cadillac Escalades showed up and it seems two couples boarded. The registration belongs to I.M.P. Group Ltd, a Montreal aviation management company which I suspect runs jets for federal cabinet ministers and other higher ups.

C-GDPF departed for YYC where it likely picked others on their way to YOW.

Methinks a round trip in C-GDPF between Pincher Ck. and YOW would come close in cost to the total of Redford's trips in the King Airs.

Put another way: Compared to the feds, Redford's aviation costs look pretty cheap.

lol here I will help out with your research for the conspiracy file, IMP is definitely not shuttling around Feds,
http://www.impgroup.com/en/home/default.aspx

Does 412 Sqd still do the VIP flying?

Yes, they also just got rid of a few of the older Challengers.
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/cuts ... story.html
Honestly I think they should use those machines for milk runs for all MPs at the end of the week while Parliament. keep the crews current and machines like to used.

Various levels of government and law enforcement tend to have an understanding that the rules don't apply to them. There is no way TC would touch this with a 10 foot pole.

It does bring up the question for the rest of the private aircraft though. What about the rare CEO that actually reimburses the company for personal trips? What about a personal trip that gets reimbursed that also has non company passengers on board? What about a reimbursed personal trip that only has non company passengers on board?

Many CEO get to utilize the company private jet for personal use as a part of their compensation package.

As for reimbursement to the province if the PC Party paid money back into general coffers I could make an argument that it wasn't flying for hire to a third party.

Bottom line is the crews of these aircraft are most likely to pay the price when someone decides its good politics to axe the flight department.

[Carrier]

More chisel charters by Province of Alberta, Air Transportation Services have been exposed:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/09/02 ... ministers/

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/09/03 ... t-flights/

There should be a public inquiry to establish the full extent of this scandal with witnesses being required by subpoena to appear and testify under oath!

Meanwhile, Transport Canada Civil Aviation has a duty and responsibility to investigate this air operator but has refused to confirm to the media that it is doing so. This failure to confirm it is taking action raises all sorts of suspicions. eg Is there some sort of collusion?

[RatherBeFlying]

lol here I will help out with your research for the conspiracy file, IMP is definitely not shuttling around Feds

What's stopping the feds from using their services?

If I hear from IMP that nobody has been transported by them on the federal taxpayer's dime or that of a Crown corporation, I could take that.

[MUSKEG]

RBF. So I gather from your last post that unless IMP gets involved and informs you one way or other of their business you will continue to rumor that they did in fact carry Gov people. Just a heads up. IMP could give a rats ass what you may or may not think. I guess the give away was the Caddy Escalades because heaven knows the oil patch wouldn't consider such as extravagance. Get a life you guys.

[Doctor Evil]

The new-improved Premier should get this guy to go to Alberta and get to the bottom of things:
The Conspiracy Deepens

Jesse Ventura investigates a secret government air transportation and time travel program, an operational death ray, and underground bunkers of an ancient race of half human/half reptiles.
http://www.trutv.com/shows/conspiracy-theory/index.html

[brooks]

And that's a wrap folks.

More business for Sunwest and others though.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.2767791

[RatherBeFlying]

Lots of ways for this to go wrong. We all know some charter operators (and regional airlines) are more vulnerable to get-there-itis than others.

Lots of flights to Ft. McMoney; so still no serious motivation (as in politicos having to drive it) to twin the highway.

Next Scenario -- politico overlong in meeting in boonies misses scheduled flight when due in Legislature next day. So suddenly needs charter.

Money might possibly be saved, but I'm less than sure.

More burnout for politicos sitting at airports waiting for security.

[Big Pistons Forever]

Lots of ways for this to go wrong. We all know some charter operators (and regional airlines) are more vulnerable to get-there-itis than others.

Lots of flights to Ft. McMoney; so still no serious motivation (as in politicos having to drive it) to twin the highway.

Next Scenario -- politico overlong in meeting in boonies misses scheduled flight when due in Legislature next day. So suddenly needs charter.

Money might possibly be saved, but I'm less than sure.

More burnout for politicos sitting at airports waiting for security.

It doesn't matter if it will cost more to charter, it is all about the optics. Redford made government air services politically toxic. No politician in their right mind is going to risk a picture of them getting off a government airplane no matter how sensible the reason for using the airplane.

[imarai]

Its done. All gone. Soon. Wanna buy a low-time Dash-8?

[Stu Pidasso]

A great Flight Department, thrown under the Political bus for the arrogance of that Cow Redford. Chartering will cost 3 times the operating cost of Alta Gov Services and watch which government ass kisser gets the work.

If Prentice thinks the people of Alberta are stupid enough to buy this, he's fooling himself.