Aeronautics Act

This Act may be cited as the Aeronautics Act.

This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

In this Act,

ANS Corporation means NAV CANADA, a corporation incorporated on May 26, 1995 under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act; (société)

aerodrome means any area of land, water (including the frozen surface thereof) or other supporting surface used, designed, prepared, equipped or set apart for use either in whole or in part for the arrival, departure, movement or servicing of aircraft and includes any buildings, installations and equipment situated thereon or associated therewith; (aérodrome)

aeronautical product means any aircraft, aircraft engine, aircraft propeller or aircraft appliance or part or the component parts of any of those things, including any computer system and software; (produits aéronautiques)

air carrier means any person who operates a commercial air service; (transporteur aérien)

aircraft means

until the day on which paragraph (b) comes into force, any machine capable of deriving support in the atmosphere from reactions of the air, and includes a rocket; (aéronef)

[Repealed before coming into force, 2008, c. 20, s. 3]

air navigation services has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act; (services de navigation aérienne)

airport means an aerodrome in respect of which a Canadian aviation document is in force; (aéroport)

air traffic control services has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act; (services de contrôle de la circulation aérienne)

aviation reservation system means a system that provides the capability to make reservations or issue tickets for air services; (système de réservation de services aériens)

aviation security regulation means a regulation made under subsection 4.71(1); (règlement sur la sûreté aérienne)

Canada[Repealed, 1996, c. 31, s. 56]

Canadian aircraft means an aircraft registered in Canada; (aéronef canadien)

Canadian aviation document means, subject to subsections (3) and (4), any licence, permit, accreditation, certificate or other document issued by the Minister under Part I to or with respect to any person or in respect of any aeronautical product, aerodrome, facility or service; (document d’aviation canadien)

civil air navigation services has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act; (services de navigation aérienne civile)

commercial air service means any use of aircraft for hire or reward; (service aérien commercial)

emergency direction means a direction made under section 4.76 or 4.77; (directive d’urgence)

goods means anything that may be taken or placed on board an aircraft, or that may be brought into an aerodrome or other aviation facility, including personal belongings, baggage, cargo and conveyances; (bien)

hire or reward means any payment, consideration, gratuity or benefit, directly or indirectly charged, demanded, received or collected by any person for the use of an aircraft; (rémunération)

interim order means an interim order made under subsection 6.41(1) or (1.1); (arrêté d’urgence)

Minister means

subject to paragraph (b), the Minister of Transport or any other Minister that is designated by the Governor in Council as the Minister for the purposes of this Act, and

the Minister of National Defence — or, under the direction of the Minister of National Defence, the Chief of the Defence Staff appointed under the National Defence Act — with respect to any matter relating to defence, including any matter relating to any of the following:

military personnel, a military aeronautical product, a military aerodrome or military equipment of Canada or a foreign state, or a military facility of Canada or a foreign state relating to aeronautics, and

a service relating to aeronautics provided by such personnel, by means of such an aeronautical product or such equipment or at such an aerodrome or facility; (ministre)

pilot-in-command means, in relation to an aircraft, the pilot having responsibility and authority for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight time; (commandant de bord)

registered owner, in respect of an aircraft, means the person to whom a certificate of registration for the aircraft has been issued by the Minister under Part I or in respect of whom the aircraft has been registered by the Minister under that Part; (propriétaire enregistré)

security clearance means a security clearance granted under section 4.8 to a person who is considered to be fit from a transportation security perspective; (habilitation de sécurité)

security measure means a measure made under subsection 4.72(1) or 4.73(1); (mesure de sûreté)

superior court means

in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of the Province,

in the Province of Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice,

in the Province of Quebec, the Superior Court of the Province,

in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Court of Queen’s Bench for the Province,

in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, the Supreme Court of the Province, and

the Supreme Court of Yukon, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Court of Justice; (juridiction supérieure)

Tribunal means the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada established by subsection 2(1) of the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada Act. (Tribunal)

Despite the definition Minister in subsection (1), Minister, in relation to any matter referred to in paragraph 4.2(1)(n), 4.9(p), (q) or (r) or 8.7(1)(b), means the Minister of National Defence.

The following documents are deemed not to be a Canadian aviation document for the purposes of sections 6.6 to 7.21:

a security clearance;

a restricted area pass that is issued by the Minister in respect of an aerodrome that the Minister operates;

a Canadian aviation document specified in an aviation security regulation for the purpose of this subsection; and

an authorization issued under section 7.42.

An authorization granted under subsection 4.3(1), (1.1) or (3) is not a Canadian aviation document.

Subject to any regulations under paragraph 4.9(w), this Part applies in respect of aeronautics to

all persons and all aeronautical products and other things in Canada;

all persons outside Canada who hold Canadian aviation documents;

all Canadian aircraft outside Canada and all passengers and crew members on Canadian aircraft outside Canada; and

all persons and goods on board aircraft bound for Canada.

Every person exercising the privileges accorded by a Canadian aviation document in a foreign state and every Canadian aircraft operated in a foreign state shall comply with or be operated in accordance with the applicable aeronautics laws of that state.

Nothing in this Part shall be construed as requiring a person or aircraft to contravene or be operated in contravention of a law of a foreign state that applies to or in respect of the person or aircraft.

Every person who commits an act or omission outside Canada that if committed in Canada would be a contravention of a provision under this Part shall be deemed to have committed a contravention of the provision under this Part and may be proceeded against and punished in the place in Canada where the person is found as if the contravention had been committed in that place.

If a provision of this Part or of any regulation, notice, order, security measure or emergency direction made under this Part requires a notice or other document to be served personally or by registered or certified mail, it may also be served by electronic means.

Service by electronic means may be proved by a record of electronic transmission setting out the date and time of transmission.

Service by electronic means is considered effective on the day on which it is sent, as indicated on the record of transmission.

The Minister is responsible for the development and regulation of aeronautics and the supervision of all matters connected with aeronautics and, in the discharge of those responsibilities, the Minister may

promote aeronautics by such means as the Minister considers appropriate;

construct, maintain and operate aerodromes and establish and provide other facilities and services relating to aeronautics;

establish and provide facilities and services for the collection, publication or dissemination of information relating to aeronautics and enter into arrangements with any person or branch of government for the collection, publication and dissemination of that information;

undertake, and cooperate with persons undertaking, such projects, technical research, study or investigation as in the opinion of the Minister will promote the development of aeronautics;

control and manage all aircraft and equipment necessary for the conduct of any services of Her Majesty in right of Canada;

establish aerial routes;

cooperate with officers of Her Majesty in right of Canada and assist them in providing any services under their jurisdiction that may require any aerial work and collaborate with officers employed in aviation services of Her Majesty in such extension of their work as the development of aeronautics may require;

take such action as may be necessary to secure by international regulation or otherwise the rights of Her Majesty in right of Canada in international air traffic;

cooperate with officers of Her Majesty in right of Canada on all matters relating to defence;

cooperate or enter into administrative arrangements with aeronautics authorities of other governments or foreign states with respect to any matter relating to aeronautics;

investigate, examine and report on the operation and development of commercial air services in, to or from Canada;

provide financial and other assistance to persons, governments and organizations in relation to matters pertaining to aeronautics;

for the purposes of providing aviation weather services that will ensure the safety, regularity and efficiency of aircraft operation, enter into arrangements with any branch of the Government of Canada that is capable of and responsible for providing those services or, where those arrangements cannot be made, enter into arrangements with any person or organization with respect to the provision of those services in such form and manner and at such places as the Minister considers necessary;

subject to subsection (2), investigate matters relating to aviation safety;

manage the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems and equipment or systems that can cause interference with the operation of remotely piloted aircraft systems; and

undertake such other activities in relation to aeronautics as the Minister considers appropriate or as the Governor in Council may direct.

Investigations of military-civilian occurrences, as defined in Part II, shall be carried out in accordance with that Part by the Airworthiness Investigative Authority, designated by the Minister under section 12.

The Minister may authorize any person or class of persons to exercise or perform, subject to any restrictions or conditions that the Minister may specify, any of the powers, duties or functions of the Minister under this Part, other than the power to make a regulation, an order, a security measure or an emergency direction.

Despite subsection (1), the Minister may authorize any person or class of persons to make an order, a security measure or an emergency direction if a provision of this Part specifically authorizes the Minister to do so.

The Governor in Council may by regulation authorize the Minister to make orders with respect to any matter in respect of which regulations of the Governor in Council under this Part may be made.

The Minister may authorize his deputy to make orders with respect to the matters referred to in paragraph 4.9(l).

Any person whom the Minister of National Defence has authorized to exercise or perform powers, duties or functions relating to airworthiness may, in accordance with the authorization, authorize another person under their authority to exercise or perform any of those powers, duties or functions.

The Minister may make an order prohibiting the development or expansion of a given aerodrome or any change to the operation of a given aerodrome, if, in the Minister’s opinion, the proposed development, expansion or change is likely to adversely affect aviation safety or is not in the public interest.

An order under subsection (1) is exempt from examination, registration and publication under the Statutory Instruments Act.

The Governor in Council may make regulations imposing, with respect to aircraft in flight in Canada, charges for the availability during flights of any facility or service provided by or on behalf of the Minister.

The Governor in Council may make regulations, or may, by order, subject to and in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be specified in the order, authorize the Minister to make regulations, imposing charges

for the use of

any facility or service provided by or on behalf of the Minister for or in respect of any aircraft, whether or not, where the facility or service is provided during flight, the flight originates or terminates in Canada or any portion of the flight is over Canada,

any other facility or service provided by or on behalf of the Minister at any aerodrome, or

any aerodrome operated by or on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada;

in respect of any security measure that is carried out by the Minister; or

in respect of the issue, renewal, amendment or endorsement of any document issued or to be issued under this Part or any action preparatory thereto, whether or not the document is issued, renewed, amended or endorsed.

Any regulation made under subsection (1) or (2) may prescribe the amount of charges imposed thereunder and the rate of interest payable in respect of those charges or the manner of calculating those charges or the rate of interest and may prescribe the time from which the interest is payable.

All charges imposed under this section and interest payable thereon constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

If a charge is imposed in respect of an aircraft under this section, both the registered owner and the operator of the aircraft are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for payment of the charge.

The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring registered owners and operators of aircraft who have failed to pay on time any charges imposed under this section to deposit each year with the Minister security in the form of a bond or letter of credit and in an amount satisfactory to the Minister to ensure full payment of the charges to be imposed in the next following year in respect of the aircraft.

Every charge imposed by regulations made under this section bears interest in accordance with the regulations.

The Minister may enter into an agreement with any person or organization respecting any matter for which a regulation made under subsection 4.4(1) or (2) could impose a charge.

If both an agreement entered into under subsection (1) and a regulation made under subsection 4.4(1) or (2) relate to the same matter, the regulation does not apply to the person or organization that has entered into the agreement in respect of the matter for which payment is required under the agreement.

When the Minister enters into an undertaking with respect to a matter for which payment of an amount is required from the other party under the terms of an agreement entered into under subsection (1), the undertaking is deemed, for the purposes of recovering that amount, not to be a duty of the Minister under this Act.

All amounts payable under an agreement entered into under subsection (1) and any interest payable on them constitute a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and may be recovered as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.

The Minister may spend the amounts received under an agreement entered into under subsection (1) in the fiscal year in which they are received or in the next fiscal year.

An order or regulation must not be made under this Part that has the effect of imposing charges for civil air navigation services, and an agreement must not be entered into under subsection 4.401(1) that has the effect of requiring payment for those services.

An order or regulation must not be made under this Part that has the effect of imposing charges for air navigation services provided by or on behalf of the Minister of National Defence, and an agreement must not be entered into under subsection 4.401(1) that has the effect of requiring payment for those services, if

the charges or payments are for services referred to in subsection 10(1) of the Civil Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act; or

the charges or payments are for services that are similar to services that the ANS Corporation provides and charges for in respect of Canadian airspace or any other airspace in respect of which Canada has responsibility for the provision of air traffic control services.

Where the amount of any charge and interest thereon due by a person that has been imposed under section 4.4 has not been paid, the Minister may, in addition to any other remedy available for the collection of the amount and whether or not a judgment for the collection of the amount has been obtained, on application to the superior court of the province in which any aircraft owned or operated by the person is situated, obtain an order of the court, issued on such terms as the court deems necessary, authorizing the Minister to seize and detain the aircraft.

Where the amount of any charge and interest thereon due by a person that has been imposed under section 4.4 has not been paid and the Minister has reason to believe that the person is about to leave Canada or take from Canada any aircraft owned or operated by the person, the Minister may, in addition to any other remedy available for the collection of the amount and whether or not a judgment for the collection of the amount has been obtained, on ex parte application to the superior court of the province in which any aircraft owned or operated by the person is situated, obtain an order of the court, issued on such terms as the court deems necessary, authorizing the Minister to seize and detain the aircraft.

Subject to subsection (4), except where otherwise directed by an order of a court, the Minister is not required to release from detention an aircraft seized under subsection (1) or (2) unless the amount in respect of which the seizure was made is paid.

The Minister shall release from detention an aircraft seized under subsection (1) or (2) if a bond or other security in a form satisfactory to the Minister for the amount in respect of which the aircraft was seized is deposited with the Minister.

Any aircraft of a person referred to in subsection 4.5(1) or (2) that would be exempt from seizure under a writ of execution issued out of the superior court of the province in which the aircraft is situated, is exempt from seizure and detention under that subsection.

The Governor in Council may by regulation exempt any aircraft from seizure and detention under section 4.5.

In sections 4.71 to 4.85, screening means a screening, including a search, carried out in the manner and under the circumstances prescribed in aviation security regulations, security measures, emergency directions or interim orders.

The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting aviation security.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), regulations may be made under that subsection

respecting the safety of the public, passengers, crew members, aircraft and aerodromes and other aviation facilities;

respecting restricted areas in aircraft or at aerodromes or other aviation facilities, including regulations respecting their identification, access to them and their administration or management;

respecting the screening of persons entering or inside an aircraft or an aerodrome or other aviation facility;

respecting the screening of goods that are intended to be taken or placed on board an aircraft or brought into an aerodrome or other aviation facility, or that are inside an aircraft or an aerodrome or other aviation facility, including regulations authorizing the use of force to gain access to goods being screened;

respecting the seizure or detention of goods in the course of screenings, including regulations respecting the destruction of seized or detained goods;

respecting the prevention of unlawful interference with civil aviation and the action that is to be taken if that interference occurs or is likely to occur;

requiring any person or any class of persons to have a security clearance as a condition to conducting any activity specified in the regulations or to being

the holder of a Canadian aviation document,

a crew member, or

the holder of a restricted area pass, within the meaning of section 1 of the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations;

respecting the making of applications for security clearances and the information to be provided by applicants;

specifying Canadian aviation documents for the purpose of paragraph 3(3)(c);

establishing security requirements for the design or construction of aircraft and aerodromes and other aviation facilities;

requiring a person or class of persons having aviation security responsibilities to develop and document security management systems or other systems in relation to aviation security and to keep them up to date;

requiring a person or class of persons having aviation security responsibilities to develop and document processes, procedures, programs or plans in relation to aviation security and to keep them up to date;

requiring a person or class of persons having aviation security responsibilities to develop documents, such as manuals, in relation to aviation security and to keep them up to date;

respecting the content and requirements of a system, process, procedure, program, plan or document referred to in any of paragraphs (k) to (k.2);

requiring a person or class of persons having aviation security responsibilities to comply with the provisions or requirements of a system, process, procedure, program, plan or document referred to in any of paragraphs (k) to (k.2);

establishing security requirements for equipment, systems and processes used in aircraft and aerodromes and other aviation facilities;

respecting the qualifications, training and standards of performance of classes of persons having responsibilities for security requirements;

respecting the testing of the effectiveness of equipment, systems and processes used in aircraft and aerodromes and other aviation facilities; and

respecting the provision to the Minister of aviation security related information specified in the regulations.

The Minister may make measures respecting aviation security.

The Minister may only make a security measure in relation to a particular matter if

an aviation security regulation could be made in relation to that matter; and

aviation security, the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members would be compromised if the particular matter that is to be the subject of the security measure were set out in a regulation and the regulation became public.

If the Minister is of the opinion that aviation security, the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members would no longer be compromised if the particular matter that is the subject of a security measure made under subsection (1) became public, the Minister must

within 23 days after forming the opinion, publish in the Canada Gazette a notice that sets out the substance of the security measure and that states that subsection 4.79(1) no longer applies in respect of the security measure; and

repeal the security measure before the earlier of

the day that is one year after the notice is published, and

the day an aviation security regulation is made in respect of the matter dealt with by the security measure.

If a notice is published under paragraph (3)(a), subsection 4.79(1) ceases to apply in respect of the security measure as of the day the notice is published.

Before making a security measure, the Minister must consult with any person or organization that the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances.

Subsection (5) does not apply if, in the opinion of the Minister, the security measure is immediately required for aviation security, the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members.

The Minister may carry out the requirements of a security measure whenever the Minister considers it necessary to do so.

The Minister may authorize his or her deputy to make, subject to any restrictions or conditions that the Minister may specify, measures respecting aviation security whenever the deputy is of the opinion that the measures are immediately required for aviation security, the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members.

The Minister’s deputy may only make a security measure in relation to a particular matter if

an aviation security regulation could be made in relation to that matter; and

aviation security, the security of any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility or the safety of the public, passengers or crew members would be compromised if the particular matter that is to be the subject of the security measure were set out in a regulation and the regulation became public.

The Minister may carry out the requirements of a security measure made under subsection (1) whenever the Minister considers it necessary to do so.

A security measure made under subsection (1) comes into force immediately when it is made but ceases to have force 90 days after it is made unless the Minister or his or her deputy repeals it before the expiry of the 90 days.

A security measure may provide that it applies in lieu of or in addition to any aviation security regulation.

If there is a conflict between an aviation security regulation and a security measure, the security measure prevails to the extent of the conflict.

For the purposes of protecting the public, passengers, crew members, aircraft and aerodromes and other aviation facilities or for preventing unlawful interference with civil aviation, no operator of an aircraft registered outside Canada shall land the aircraft at an aerodrome in Canada unless the aircraft and all persons and goods on board the aircraft have been subjected to requirements that are acceptable to the Minister.

If the Minister is of the opinion that there is an immediate threat to aviation security or to any aircraft or aerodrome or other aviation facility, or to the safety of the public, passengers or crew members, the Minister may direct any person to do, or to refrain from doing, anything that in the opinion of the Minister it is necessary to do or refrain from doing in order to respond to the threat, including directions respecting

the evacuation of aircraft and of aerodromes or other aviation facilities, or portions of them;

the diversion of aircraft to alternate landing sites; and

the movement of aircraft or persons at aerodromes or other aviation facilities.

The Minister may authorize any officer of the Department of Transport to make, subject to any restrictions or conditions that the Minister may specify, any direction that the Minister may make under section 4.76 whenever the officer is of the opinion that there is a threat referred to in that section.

An emergency direction comes into force immediately when it is made but ceases to have force 72 hours after it is made, unless the Minister or the officer who made it repeals it before the expiry of the 72 hours.

An emergency direction may provide that it applies in lieu of or in addition to any aviation security regulation or security measure.