Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, honourable members, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be here.
With me today I have Robert Mather, our vice-president of civil aviation of the association. I think Robert brings a unique perspective to this issue, having served for twenty years within Transport Canada in the aircraft certification branch, and more recently having spent almost ten years at one of our member companies, Pratt & Whitney Canada, as the chief airworthiness engineer.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of our more than 400 member companies located from coast to coast. Aerospace is a critical component of Canada's advanced technology economy. It employs more than 75,000 people across the country who are engaged in the design, development, and manufacture of aircraft, aircraft systems and components, and aviation infrastructure sold to customers around the world. More than 85% of our industry's output is exported, and that's certainly a testament to the high quality and levels of safety and reliability of Canadian aerospace products and services.
We welcome the opportunity to share with you the aerospace sector's view on how Bill C-6 will help strengthen Canada's long and well-established record of achievement as a world leader in aerospace safety. We believe the proposed changes outlined in the bill before you will translate into better outcomes for everyone, outcomes that will contribute to safer skies, safer aircraft, and ultimately, safer travellers, not just here at home but around the world.
The provisions outlined in Bill C-6, in particular those that relate to designated organizations and safety management systems, will help pave the way toward the aerospace industry's assuming greater responsibility for regulating its own behaviour in areas of the law that are widely seen and accepted as low-risk. We see this development as welcome news.
We believe it does nothing more than assert the patently obvious, that Canada's aerospace industry has arrived. We are a mature, safety-driven industry whose mandate is perennially refuelled by a desire to protect and promote safe air and space travel first and foremost. We believe this bill is recognition of that maturity. It builds on proven delegation authorities and systems and is a proud example of Canada's unwavering commitment to the highest standards of civil aviation in the world. We also believe that effective regulatory oversight is critical to maintaining the confidence of the travelling public, not to mention that of our trading partners around the globe.
AIAC member companies have collaborated with Transport Canada officials in developing safety management systems defined in the bill before you, measures which we think will strengthen aviation safety by building a culture of safety, which Captain Boucher has referred to, while achieving a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness for the industry.
The information provided by Transport Canada has equipped these companies with the tools they will require once Bill C-6 is enacted and the ensuing regulations appended to the bill are introduced.
Canada's aerospace industry boasts a good many small and medium-sized companies, some of which expressed the concern that these safety management systems may be difficult or too costly for smaller corporate players to implement. We are reassured by senior officials within Transport Canada that these concerns are in fact being addressed. The government has demonstrated a willingness to make these safety management systems scalable, and is now committed to working with these firms to ensure that safety management systems are put into effect cost-effectively, with safety effectiveness, and without delay.
Promoting a regulatory regime in aviation safety that promotes the responsible use of voluntary reporting, when and where it makes sense to do so, is an important step in the aerospace industry's evolution as a responsible corporate citizen. We fully expect the government, for its part, to assume the full weight of responsibility for handling and protecting in the strictest confidence, all safety-related data gathered in this way. Meanwhile, we look forward to working with you, the members of this committee, along with Transport Canada officials, as the provisions of the bill are implemented.
The proposed use of designated organizations is a particularly good reflection of the goals outlined in Transport Canada's Flight 2010. We look forward to more examples of this sort of government-industry partnership, which we believe typifies Canada's long-term commitment to aviation safety. We fully expect Bill C-6 will launch us on the path towards many of the objectives Transport Canada has set out in Flight 2010, goals the aerospace industry fully embraces in the interests of putting safety first.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.