Exemption from paragraph 402.04(1)(b) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations
NCR-028-2020
Pursuant to subsection 5.9(2) of the Aeronautics Act, and after having taken into account that this exemption is in the public interest and is not likely to adversely affect aviation safety or security, I hereby exempt persons exercising the privileges of an air traffic controller licence who cease to have the authorization to exercise that privilege solely because of the expiry of the validity period of aviation document booklet in which the licence is affixed, from the requirements of paragraph 402.04(1)(b) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), subject to the conditions set out below.
Paragraph 402.04(1)(b) and subsections 402.08(2) and 402.08(3) of the CARs are reproduced in Appendix A.
Purpose
The purpose of this exemption is to adopt temporary measures in the public interest to reduce the regulatory demand on Government and the Air Navigation Service Provider resources in Canada following the declaration of a pandemic outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization on March 11th, 2020.
The purpose of this exemption is to allow holders of air traffic controller licenses and ratings that were valid as of March 12, 2020, which have a validity period that will end on or before August 1, 2020 due to the application of subsections 402.08(2) and 402.08(3) of the CARs, to continue exercising the privileges of that licence without it being valid.
Application
This exemption applies only to holders of air traffic control licences and ratings which were valid as of March 12, 2020 and have a validity period that will end on or before August 1, 2020.
This exemption ceases to apply to a holder of an air traffic control licence and rating which were valid as of March 12, 2020 and have a validity period that will end on or before August 1, 2020 who breaches the condition of this exemption.
Condition
This exemption is subject to the following condition:
- Persons exercising the privileges of an air traffic controller licence or rating pursuant to the terms and conditions of this exemption shall comply with the CARs in all respects, and the CARs shall continue to apply in all respects other than the specific exemption set out herein, or any other applicable exemption issued by the Minister of Transport.
Validity
This exemption is in effect until the earliest of the following:
- a) August 1st, 2020, at 23:59 (EST); or
- b) the date on which this exemption is cancelled in writing by the Minister where he is of the opinion that it is no longer in the public interest or that it is likely to adversely affect aviation safety or security.
Dated at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this 25th day of March 2020, on behalf of the Minister of Transport.
“Original signed by”
Nicholas Robinson
Director General
Civil Aviation
Transport Canada
Appendix A
Pertinent provisions of the Canadian Aviation Regulations
Prohibitions
402.04 (1) No person shall act as an air traffic controller or exercise the privileges of an air traffic controller licence unless
- (a) the person holds an air traffic controller licence endorsed with a rating appropriate to the privileges being exercised and with the appropriate operational location;
- (b) the licence is valid;
- (c) the person holds a valid Category 1 or 2 medical certificate; and
- (d) the person can produce the licence and certificate when exercising those privileges.
Validity of Air Traffic Controller Licences
402.08 (2) The validity period of an air traffic controller licence that is issued in the form of a booklet label starts on the day on which it is issued and ends on the expiry date of the aviation document booklet in which it is affixed.
(3) The expiry date of an aviation document booklet that has an air traffic controller licence affixed in it is
- (a) the first day of the sixty-first month following the day on which the booklet was issued, if the application for the licence included documentation establishing that the holder demonstrated an expert level ability during their language proficiency evaluation; or
- (b) the first day of the sixty-first month following the day on which the holder’s language proficiency evaluation was conducted, if the application for the licence included documentation establishing that the holder demonstrated an operational level ability during the evaluation.