The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association is asking all Canadian pilots to let Transport Canada know that its Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) to aerodrome regulations will “place undue hardship on small aerodrome and will significantly impact recreational aviation in general, private owners and operators, in particular.”
COPA is asking as many interested parties as possible to send comments to Transport Canada regarding the amendments, which it says will jeopardize small airports, seaplane bases and heliports all over the country with onerous new public consultation requirements.
COPA has written a sample letter and a list of bullet points and is urging pilots and other aviation stakeholders to use them as a basis for their own comments to TC. The letters are available as downloadable Word documents here. The deadline is April 8 and the email address to send the comments is carrac@tc.gc.ca
The NPA mandates a costly and lengthy public consultation process for the construction or expansion of any aerodrome within four kilometres of a “built-up area” and within 30 nautical miles of an existing aerodrome. It also requires environmental reviews in some circumstances.
COPA also says the requirements to trigger public consultation are vague or arbitrary and many lack relevance to the stated goals of the NPA. It notes the current proposal would affect virtually every attempt to build or expand an aerodrome anywhere in Southern Ontario.
Another potentially expensive change in the NPA is a shift in building standards. Under the new rules buildings would have to conform to local building codes rather than the National Building Code as the rules now state.