1. INTRODUCTION

The Canadian Aviation Regulation Advisory Council (CARAC) was established to increase public access and participation in the rule-making process; to discuss and debate issues from various viewpoints; to bring the various rule-making proposals to the notice of senior management at an earlier stage; and to facilitate harmonization with other national aviation jurisdictions. The Council was inaugurated on 1 July 1993 and is sponsored by the Director General, Civil Aviation (DGCA).

CARAC is composed of representatives from the aviation community, Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and other interested parties thus providing a consultation forum for the Civil Aviation regulatory program.

The basic structure of CARAC, as illustrated in Appendix 1, consists of the following:

• A CARAC Plenary, which is a general assembly of all members of the Council, whose role and responsibilities are to be the custodian of the CARAC Management Charter and Procedures. The Plenary is responsible for establishing and amending, as required, the CARAC’s rules and procedures regarding consultation, in accordance with the provisions established herein.
• A Civil Aviation Regulatory Committee (CARC), composed of the respective Senior Executives representing all functional authorities of TCCA, whose role and responsibilities are to recommend final regulatory decisions to the Minister. As part of this process, the CARC has the responsibility, on behalf of the Minister, to identify and prioritize regulatory issues and to consider, approve and direct the implementation of recommendations made by the CARAC Technical Committees.
• Technical Committees, representing each Part of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), whose role is to review and analyze assigned issues and make regulatory recommendations. These Technical Committees consist of representatives from TCCA, the aviation community and other interested parties.
• Working Groups (WG) comprising of representatives from the aviation community, the government and other interested parties. Their mandate is to develop proposals and recommendations in accordance with the assigned tasks. Working Groups will be formed by, and report to, Technical Committees on an as-required basis only.
• A Secretariat, whose role and responsibilities are to provide support and management of CARAC on behalf of the CARC.

With the coming into force of the CARs on 10 October 1996, the CARAC consultative process was firmly established as part of the regulations under CAR 103.01(2) requiring consultation for standards incorporated by reference. It states that

"The Minister shall not make a standard or an amendment to a standard unless the Minister has undertaken consultations with interested persons concerning the standard or the amendment in accordance with the procedures specified in the publication entitled CARAC Management Charter and Procedures".

In addition, as a matter of policy TCCA has decided to use CARAC for consultation on all aspects of its rule-making activities.

Notwithstanding the requirements of CAR 103.01(2), it is noted that the Canada Air Pilot (CAP) and the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) have unique publication requirements. Therefore, as a matter of policy and convenience, there will be no consultation on procedural amendments to the CAP or the CFS. However, changes to the CAP or CFS that may affect policy will be subjected to consultation through CARAC (e.g., a change to the methodology or criteria for the development of a particular procedure). Changes that fall into this category should be brought to the attention of the CARAC Secretariat by the concerned CARAC member.

2. TRANSPORT CANADA MISSION AND VISION

Transport Canada’s mission is to develop and administer policies, regulations and services for the best possible transportation system for Canada and its citizens. Its role is to develop up-to-date and relevant transportation policies and legislation and to maintain the highest level of safety and security possible.

TCCA’s measures of success in contributing to Transport Canada’s vision of having the world’s safest transportation system are

• the continued improvement of the high level of aviation safety in Canada; and
• a high level of public confidence in the Civil Aviation program.

3. GOVERNING PRINCIPLES

Accordingly, the governing principle of CARAC is to fulfil the commitment to maintain or improve Canada’s high safety standards. Therefore, in cases other than those involving ministerial public interest issues, recommendations for changes to the aviation regulatory system will be made with a view to maintain or improve aviation safety in Canada. New proposals are judged on the safety and efficiency that would result from their implementation.

In the conduct of its activities, CARAC will follow federal regulatory policies and procedures, which are posted on the Privy Council’s web site at http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca. The main theme of these documents is to foster ongoing participation and consultation with the interested community.

CARAC activities typically consist of two phases, and in many cases, these two phases are conducted concurrently:

• a study/evaluation phase; and
• an implementation phase.

To ensure an effective and efficient process, reports and recommendations developed over the years, both within and outside the federal government, are used as sources of information. Furthermore, all new proposals or recommendations for change will be substantiated pursuant to the Committee Procedures provided in Chapter 2 of Division II of the Charter.

Each CARAC member organization should be represented by a delegate appointed by the member organization, and that delegate should be authorized by the member organization to act on its behalf. In addition, each member organization may designate one or more alternates for its appointed delegate.

4. OBJECTIVE

CARAC’s prime objective, which is to assess and recommend potential regulatory changes through co-operative rule-making activities, is accomplished as follows:

• Technical Committees provide advice, recommendations as well as propose regulatory provisions, where appropriate, concerning the full range of TCCA’s rule-making mandate (refer to Appendix 2 for an overview of the CARAC process).
• The CARAC process also affords TCCA additional opportunities for exchanging information, insight and ideas with the aviation community with respect to proposed and existing rules that may require revision or revocation. This process results in the development of better rules in less time. To achieve this objective, the focus will be on the following:
• Identifying critical or contentious issues that indicate a need to examine and revise, where necessary, existing regulations, policies, standards or procedures to maintain or improve aviation safety in Canada.
• Ensuring aviation industry needs are identified and fully considered through direct involvement and consultation.
• Eliminating, wherever possible, constraints to system safety and efficiency through regulations and standards in order to reduce complexity, increase productivity and simplify the overall system.
• Minimizing the regulatory burden where safety is not compromised.
• Maximizing, to the extent practicable, the compatibility of the Canadian regulatory system with that of other regulatory authorities (e.g., FAA, JAA) where safety or efficiency benefits can be derived. However, efficiency benefits must not compromise safety.