Aeronautics Act – Regulations Respecting the Airworthiness Investigative Authority of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (proposed)

Description of the Objective

The Minister of National Defence designated the Director of Flight Safety (DFS), pursuant to the new Part II, subsection 12(1) of the Aeronautics Act, as the Airworthiness Investigative Authority (AIA) for purposes of that Act. These amendments came into force on 7 February 2015 and enabling AIA Regulations, made pursuant to sections 24.2 and 24.5 of the Act, are required to fully implement the amendments.

Description of the Regulations

The proposed AIA Regulations will mirror, for the most part, the existing Transportation Safety Board Regulations that came into force on February 28, 2014, made pursuant to the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act. The proposed AIA Regulations will address situations unique to the military, including key elements and investigation areas in the existing Flight Safety Program of the Canadian Armed Forces. For example, the new AIA Regulations will apply to all maintenance processes associated with military aviation activities, whereas the Transportation Safety Board Regulations do not apply to this aviation activity area.

The proposed AIA Regulations will provide for the mandatory reporting of specific military-civilian occurrences, the protection of the identity of persons who voluntarily report occurrences, the keeping and preservation of records, the rights and obligations of persons who attend as observers during investigations and the testing of things seized, and the form of warrants that may be issued to investigators and notices that may be provided by investigators.

Enabling Act

Aeronautics Act - sections 24.2 and 24.5.

Indication of Business Impacts

Prior to this legislation all civilian contractors and businesses associated with military aviation activities were contractually obligated to participate in the Flight Safety Program of the Canadian Armed Forces. With the amendments to the Aeronautics Act, this has become a statutory requirement and the AIA Regulations will put in place the necessary regulatory requirements. The new AIA Regulations should not increase the burden on these businesses since for the most part the regulatory requirements reflect their contractual obligations. The forms for warrants and notices will also be similar to those in the Transportation Safety Board Regulations and should not impose any additional burden on civilian aviation activities or other Canadians.

Public Consultation Opportunities

Civilian businesses working with military aviation have been notified regarding the Aeronautics Act amendments as the legislation progressed through Parliament. Further, the proposed AIA Regulations are discussed at every annual Flight Safety workshop where civilian aviation businesses are represented. Lastly, the AIA and DFS personnel conduct visits and surveys of civilian aviation facilities annually and discussions regarding the upcoming AIA Regulations are part of these visits and surveys. There have been no negative perspectives voiced on the proposed AIA Regulations to this point.

Departmental Contact

Jim Armour, OMM, CD2- Senior Investigator
Directorate of Flight Safety
National Defence Headquarters
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2

Email: jim.armour@forces.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-944-5539
Fax: 613-992-5187