The petition
Notice of Amendment NPA 99-148 Special Flight Operations Parachuting
Transport Canada is currently in the process of finalizing NPA 99-148 Special Flight Operations - Parachuting. This proposed amendment seeks to supersede the current self-regulated status that the CSPA (Canadian Sport Parachuting Association) and CAPS (Canadian Associates of Professional Skydivers) have held since 1956, placing them under the umbrella of Transport Canada.
Skydiving is currently self regulated through volunteer organizations (CSPA, CAPS) which have developed minimum training standards, procedures, and recommendations, including instructor and coach training and ratings systems developed in co-ordination with the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). CSPA has been building these programs for the past 52 years, and in that time Canada has been able to maintain one of the best safety records in the world. Additionally, CSPA is currently the official representative for Canada to the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale) which is the international body for sport aeronautical activities, including skydiving.
A Parachute Training Risk Assessment Committee was assembled at the request of Manzur Huq Director, General Aviation (Transport Canada) regarding NPA 99-148 were directed to review NPA 99-148 and determine if it addressed the risks in skydiving, and identify residual risks attributed to the NPA. This committee consisted of the following representatives.
Rick McFarlane Transport Canada System Safety
Wayne Harper Transport Canada Special Flight Operations
David Dixon Pacific Region Technical Input
Ian Flanagan Canadian Sport Parachute Association
Gerry Harper Canadian Associates of Professional Skydivers
Dr. Graeme Dowling Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Alberta
Al McGee Department of National Defense
Tony Pleasants Transportation Safety Board
The above panel of experts extensively reviewed the proposed NPA and specifically agreed and recommended against enacting this regulation. The proposed a Non-Regulatory solution with an Education Program and Advisory body. Their investigation showed that this form of regulation will provide little to no benefit in safety to participants or to the general public.
The reasons for this determination are that Transport Canada lacks sufficient knowledge of the skydiving industry to properly understand and enforce its rules and standards.
It does not appear as if the impact of the proposed regulation has been fully studied. No information has been provided on topics such as: the expected cost to the government and taxpayers, whether or how user fees might be set, the level of staffing required, how the regulations will be enforced, what penalties there will be, and what legal process will be followed for enforcement.
To briefly discuss some of the direct drawbacks of this proposed NPA, the effect of this NPA that concerns many skydiving school owners is the section on training standards. Transport Canada has not shown how it proposes to approve or disqualify any particular skydiving organization. It would be able to arbitrarily put pressure on a skydiving organization to approve certain rules, under threat of disqualification for training students. This NPA has the ability to affect operations of more than 50 schools, and impact a $10,700,000.00 industry, and affect 22,000 citizens from recreation skydiving.
Transport Canada has stated that there will be no costs to establish this regulation, but they have not considered costs associated with enforcing the regulations effects. Training Inspectors in skydiving operations, and fully educating them on technical aspects is a costly and time-consuming proposition. Without these experts, future rules can be created without consultation, which could end up being hazardous to all participants, students and skydivers alike.
In addition, parachuting schools are required to follow all rules and recommendations of the organization. The CSPA has a number of technical information manuals that are designed to be advisory in nature. It would be highly impractical or costly for schools to follow all recommendations, when some do not apply in all situations. The manuals also contain jump-by-jump student training curricula. It would also be nonsensical to force schools to follow the precise steps shown in the manuals, for all in the industry recognize the recommendations to be only one way to implement a thorough student training system. Each school will have a curriculum and procedures that are custom tailored to their own experience and circumstances (instructors, aircraft, facilities, and environment), while still following the spirit of the recommendations. Again, Transport Canada has shown no awareness or concern about how their proposal would sweep together every rule, recommendation, and suggested procedure, and make it into law.
Skydiving is an inherently dangerous sport, we all know this. It is unfortunate that accidents happen, but no amount of regulation can prevent this. Equipment can fail, skydivers can make mistakes. The only real solution to the problem is education and training, something that the CSPA is already a frontrunner in providing. Canada is currently among the safest countries in the world to skydive, and so new federal regulation is unnecessary, and would only be a waste of money, for no gain.
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