Evidence of meeting #48 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sms.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
But I have a question, and I just want you to answer the question.
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
The reason I'm asking to see this letter is because I don't believe there is a letter. If there was, I would probably know because I would have written it, or we would have written it.
There is reference in Dave Bayliss' letter to a letter, and I believe there was some conversation about a letter. But I was asking if we could see the letter because I don't believe we wrote one.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
I'm not sure if you did. There is no reference to a letter in any correspondence I have, but I naturally assumed it was a letter, because if I was going to make allegations against another industry or a competitor of mine, I would certainly put it in a letter. But maybe it was telephone calls.
Did you make an allegation to Transport Canada about some irregularities with some of your competitors?
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
We did not make, nor have we ever made, specific allegations about anyone, which is why I'm questioning about this letter again, because that letter was implied by Transport Canada. Recently in a conversation, somebody else mentioned this letter, so I'm kind of surprised to hear you bring it up here today.
Again, there was no such letter, in my recollection. If you have one, I'd like to refresh my memory because my partner and I didn't write such a letter.
On multiple occasions we have expressed frustration to Transport Canada about the same state of the industry that we are talking about with you here. In our documentation here today, I don't think you will find any kind of specific company names mentioned.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Okay, and that's my question. You did make a complaint, or you have made a series of allegations in the past about the safety of the airline industry in your area. Is that correct?
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Well, apparently...I have the correspondence indicating that as a result of some allegations you made, Transport Canada did a series of inspections of 11 operators and 27 aircraft in northern Ontario. In fact, relatively minor regulatory infractions were found, and there was no evidence of widespread safety problems. That's why I'm wondering, did you make these allegations about safety problems or did you not?
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
I really can't speak to why Transport Canada would target a specific area in our country. I might suggest you ask Dave Bayliss for a copy of this documentation that supposedly exists. We have at all times stated that our concerns were with this industry across the nation, not in any specific area, and definitely not related to any specific company. So perhaps you might want to request that David Bayliss appear and produce this letter.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
That is not my point.
You have one aircraft, is that right? Your company operates one aircraft, you and your partner?
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
It's a Beechcraft 18 on floats.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Okay.
But you have an impression that there are safety problems across Canada. What information would that be based upon? That's what I'm trying to get at, because they did an audit in your area of 11 operators and 27 aircraft and found very minor infractions. I'm just trying to find out what you're basing the evidence that you provided us today on and what you based your complaints on?
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
We have personal experience in this industry, and as I've mentioned today, we've been speaking with operators across the country.
So if Transport Canada is examining the records of 11 operators in our area, at their own discretion, and they find that there is no problem, we might respectfully suggest that they're not looking deeply enough. But it is not our place to do their job or to make those statements, so I think perhaps you should question Transport Canada as to their safety findings.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
All right.
What do you consider to be Transport Canada's job? You've suggested—I think to CTV News—that they should do their job and you will do your job. I'm wondering what you consider Transport Canada's job to be.
5:05 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
I don't think I made that exact quote, but certainly we have stated that we would like Transport Canada to do their job, which is oversight.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Okay.
What do you consider your job to be in that?
5:10 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
We operate to the standard, and that's why we were given our certificate.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Do you look at safety as a joint venture, in that both you and Transport Canada would have oversight?
5:10 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
Safety is an industry venture; it's not something that Transport Canada can legislate, as I've stated here today. Safety is an attitude, and it's a sharing of information that we're requesting, the same items that Mr. Rubin was talking about. We want access to our safety data, so that we can share it and become more safe. So, yes, it's shared, but not necessarily with Transport Canada legislating safety.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
May I make one quick point, Mr. Chair, just to clarify the record.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
[Inaudible--Editor]...but can I ask just one question, if you don't mind? Obviously you have to buy insurance. Do you go through any sort of a rigorous process from the insurance company to verify safety? How do you buy insurance, or what do you present to them?
5:10 p.m.
President, Operations Manager and Chief Pilot, Dax Air Inc.
I don't know if this is related or not, but when we went to insure our company initially, we went to the insurance company that provided insurance to the previous company that I worked and flew this airplane for.
As chief pilot, I have quite a number of hours on that particular airplane. I figured that because we were starting a new company, complete with a maintenance organization—of which my partner is the head—we would be considered safety conscious because we were providing maintenance in conjunction with our air service.
Funnily enough, the insurance company wasn't interested in our petition about safety; they were interested in dollars. In the end, they denied us insurance strictly on the basis that we were a new company. They are supposed to go through the company's accident and safety record; we didn't have one because we were new. They were also supposed to go through the pilot's safety record, and, touch wood, I haven't had any violations or accidents—and I don't want to jinx that one.
We have done our best to set up a safe environment and—
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
The only reason I ask is that, for example, if you buy a car, whoever you buy it from has to provide you with a safety certificate, so you can buy insurance. I wasn't familiar with how the process worked.