I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to discuss the Canadian certification process. Bell has been developing and manufacturing helicopters at our Mirabel facility for more than 30 years now. To support the certification of our products, we built a strong relationship with Transport Canada and have held the Transport Canada designation of design approval organization based on the Transport Canada delegation system for over 28 years.
In my role at Bell, I'm responsible for the management and certification process for Bell Canada and for validation of our products globally. As such, I have had the opportunity to observe how Transport Canada compares to and is viewed by other authorities.
I can say that Transport Canada Civil Aviation has a strong reputation around the world as one of the premier certification authorities. Due to Transport Canada's reputation and strong bilateral partnerships, other countries recognize Transport Canada's competence and have trust in the Canadian certification process, which ensures that aeronautical products like ours, developed and certified in Canada, meet the safety standards that have been established by the world's leading authorities.
As mentioned before, Transport Canada uses a risk-based approach to certification. The Transport Canada certification process with its system of delegation is effective and robust. Transport Canada's oversight, known as level of involvement, is based on assessment of risk to determine where and when they are involved in certification projects so their attention can be focused on areas that are the most important and have the greatest impact on safety.
Bell has developed safe products through an open relationship with Transport Canada. The certification process is structured to initiate communication with Transport Canada early in the product development life cycle. The Canadian delegation system is mature and is based on trust. It includes Transport Canada level of involvement to ensure product safety. Early and open communication between Transport Canada specialists and Bell specialists is encouraged to ensure engagement and common understanding of our design and compliance with the applicable standards.
A strong delegation system is necessary to maximize the efficiency of the certification process and to ensure that Transport Canada resources focus on areas that have the greatest impact on safety. There are finite authority resources to provide oversight of the certification process, so delegation and a strong partnership with Transport Canada are necessary for the success of the Canadian industry. Early collaboration, trust, and continued delegation and reliance on the OEM's expertise are needed to continue to develop safe products.
Strong bilateral partnerships with other major authorities are also essential. If there is trust in Transport Canada's certification process, foreign authorities can focus their attention on areas of greatest risk as well.
We appreciate our partnership with Transport Canada. It's important to Bell that Transport Canada be properly resourced and have predictable and stable funding to retain a strong international and domestic voice.
I would also echo the recommendation from Ms. Diamant about the safety management systems. Bell has already started the process to voluntarily adopt safety management systems within our organization. We have already adopted it in several other facilities and are in the process of adopting a voluntary safety management system here in Canada as well.
Thank you.