Transport Canada's aviation wing moving to DND with little explanation

Transport Canada will be surrendering most — if not all — of its aviation wing to the Department of Defence in a plan that’s shrouded in secrecy.

The move of the federal department’s “core aviation services” was flagged in the recent federal budget. It has the potential to affect the long-standing National Aerial Surveillance Program (NASP), which monitors the country’s three coastlines for pollution and marine wildlife.

Those services "will be restructured, transferring most core aviation services, functions and assets to the Department of National Defence, while seeking to leverage commercial offerings where appropriate,” said the budget presented by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Nov. 4 and passed by the House of Commons on Monday.

The budget underlined that Transport Canada‘s regime of “training and certification of pilots will be maintained, with no impact on commercial and non-commercial pilots in Canada.”

Since the budget was presented, CBC News has repeatedly asked for clarification and an explanation of the transfer. 

Both Transport Canada and the Finance Department refused to explain the implications, which are significant given that Transport Canada operates a fleet of roughly 52 aircraft (of those 24 are owned, the rest leased) and has taken possession of a brand-new Israeli-made drone for Arctic surveillance.

“The Department of Finance Canada is best suited to respond to your questions,” said Flavio Nienow, a spokesperson for Transport Canada in a recent email. 

Officials at Finance were even less forthcoming.

“The initiative you are referring to is part of Transport Canada’s plan to meet its savings target under the Comprehensive Expenditure Review. More details about this plan will be communicated in due course,” said a spokesperson who refused to be named. 

Much like the recent absorption of the Canadian Coast Guard into the Defence Department, the transfer of Transport Canada’s civilian fleet has a similar ad-hoc vibe.

Mario Pelletier, the commissioner of the coast guard, was before a House of Commons committee recently and could shed little light on what the integration of his service with the Defence Department looks like beyond the new mandate to share surveillance and intelligence with the military. 

Crucial questions about how that data will be shared and whether the coast guard could defend itself if it ran into a dangerous situation remain unclear.

“Right now we're not looking at defending, because we're not looking at being in a theatre where there would be confrontation,” Pelletier told the Commons defence committee on Oct. 21. 

“Right now we're looking at occupying a space that can be occupied and where we can collect information and pass it on to our colleagues at DND.”