Well, you actually did have the opportunity to debate and provide input 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:complexintentions wrote:This fee is a tax, pure and simple, ostensibly for a service (AIP) that no longer exists in the form it did when this tax was introduced. (Read: implemented unilaterally with no debate nor input from those affected.)
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: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.
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:
RIAS Archive Files - Subpart 104 96-433 October 2, 1996Consultation
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 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:
RIAS Archive Files - Canada Gazette, Part II (Subpart 104 - July 5, 2000)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.
