Airline safety is a national concern
We have had a lively discussion about safety at the Island Airport on this blog in the last few days. By coincidence this month's Walrus Magazine has an article on airline safety. You can find it at this address.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.11-transport-fly-at-your-own-risk/2/
What is happening, according to the article, is that the Department of Transport, the federal government department that regulates airline operations and airports, is deregulating its operations and turning safety over to the airlines. This is a paragraph out of the article.
"Canada’s civil aviation fleet is the world’s second-largest, with close to 3,000 operators. It currently carries upward of 99 million passengers annually — a number that is expected to grow by 40 percent as of 2015. Like airlines in other countries, Canadian carriers are under intense pressure to cut costs and keep planes flying without interruption. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization — the UN agency responsible for supervising the safe and orderly growth of international aviation — the rapid expansion of the industry is making it increasingly difficult to manage safety with traditional methods."
The article quotes a now retrired judge, Virgil Moshansky, who conducted the influential enquiry into the Dryden Air Enquiry as saying, “Canada is the only country in the world introducing sms (a airline industry self regulating system) without maintaining regulatory oversight,” ... He alleges that implementation of the new system is motivated primarily by budget concerns. “Transport Canada management is well rewarded for cost cutting,” he says. “And they save money by cutting the number of inspectors.”
He also notes that the government’s civil aviation inspectorate is significantly smaller than it was at the time of the Dryden inquiry, and has grave doubts that Transport Canada can ensure a safe aviation environment for the travelling public as a result.
The Canadian public is right to be concerned about airline safety.
Bill Freeman
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.11-transport-fly-at-your-own-risk/2/
What is happening, according to the article, is that the Department of Transport, the federal government department that regulates airline operations and airports, is deregulating its operations and turning safety over to the airlines. This is a paragraph out of the article.
"Canada’s civil aviation fleet is the world’s second-largest, with close to 3,000 operators. It currently carries upward of 99 million passengers annually — a number that is expected to grow by 40 percent as of 2015. Like airlines in other countries, Canadian carriers are under intense pressure to cut costs and keep planes flying without interruption. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization — the UN agency responsible for supervising the safe and orderly growth of international aviation — the rapid expansion of the industry is making it increasingly difficult to manage safety with traditional methods."
The article quotes a now retrired judge, Virgil Moshansky, who conducted the influential enquiry into the Dryden Air Enquiry as saying, “Canada is the only country in the world introducing sms (a airline industry self regulating system) without maintaining regulatory oversight,” ... He alleges that implementation of the new system is motivated primarily by budget concerns. “Transport Canada management is well rewarded for cost cutting,” he says. “And they save money by cutting the number of inspectors.”
He also notes that the government’s civil aviation inspectorate is significantly smaller than it was at the time of the Dryden inquiry, and has grave doubts that Transport Canada can ensure a safe aviation environment for the travelling public as a result.
The Canadian public is right to be concerned about airline safety.
Bill Freeman
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