Transport committee  It is a large number, but it's important to put that number in context. Those cases are complex medical cases that would otherwise not meet the medical standards. These are pilots who could otherwise be considered unfit but for whom the minister is trying to exercise discretion to get those pilots flying.

Transport committee  Thanks for the question. I can take that one as well. Through you, Mr. Chair, we are working extensively in civil aviation. Although our mandate is mostly aviation safety, we're working with stakeholders to try to come up with solutions that can be mutually beneficial. You're right that there is a very high cost to obtaining an airline transport pilot licence in Canada.

Transport committee  We are looking at the flight duty regulations, but it is important to underscore that the flight duty regulations that were promulgated, announced in 2018, and implemented in 2020 and 2022 are designed to make pilots less fatigued in flight. Fatigue is an impairment. I've personally flown on long missions, and anything that can reduce the amount of time a pilot spends in the cockpit makes a pilot safer.

Transport committee  Thank you for the question. This is a great opportunity to set the record straight. There isn't actually a backlog of files for medicals; there is a queue of complex medical cases. Right now the regulations require that medically fit pilots have their medical applications processed within 40 business days.

Transport committee  It is not a recent trend. What you referred to as a backlog is a queue of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 files that are awaiting processing, but those files are driven by the complexity of the medical cases.

Transport committee  Thanks for the question. Through you, Mr. Chair, we're working actively with the industry and the stakeholder group that is proposing the use of alternate runway surfaces. We understand very much the need for aircraft to service the north and are very much aware of the issue that Mr.

Transport committee  I can speak to that. First of all, thank you for the question. There is a trend across Canada to decommission NDBs, non-directional beacons, as ground service or ground navigational aids. What's being used as a replacement or as an alternative is, to a large extent, global navigation systems, space-based systems, which are much more accurate.

Transport committee  I would say that on a very short runway like that, an ILS is an instrument landing system, an instrument approach that is typically not used as much by general aviation aircraft to the same extent as other aircraft landing on those very short runways, so there may not be a business case for it.

Transport committee  Thanks for the question. Through you, Mr. Chair, we are working actively with the alternate services group. I believe you had a representative who is a proponent of aluminum runways speak to you very recently. There are various types of alternate surfaces. Transport Canada approved the use of thin bituminous surfaces, which is largely a Saskatchewan issue, as an alternate hard runway surface.