Your last point is interesting. I was reviewing the 2005-06 Transportation Safety Board annual report to Parliament on occurrences, investigations, and safety action. It indicates that the number of accidents in 2005 increased by 5% from both the 1,945 accidents reported in 2004, and the 2002-2004 annual average of 1,946 accidents. So we had an increase by 5% in 2005 from what the situation was in 2001, in both the numbers and the average in those years.
The other report I found of interest was the TSB report for December 2006 on aviation occurrence and casualty statistics. It indicates there were seven airliner accidents in Canada in 2006. There was a total of 262 accidents for Canadian-registered aircraft, of which 31 were fatal.
It is really interesting that there was a total of 823 all-aircraft reportable incidents. This is a figure you don't hear too many people talking about. In my view, an incident can be a more important indicator of the state of safety in the aviation system than an actual accident. We've had almost three incidents per day. These have involved such things as near-misses, separation between aircraft, and risk of collision. There were 280 declared emergencies, 136 engine failures, 171 loss of separation, 103 smoke-fire incidents, and over 150 other incidents.
So I think that's a very important area that is usually neglected when you talk about the state of aviation safety.