Directive No. 3
Revision 4

Recovering the Incremental Costs of Providing Services Inside/Outside Canada

Policy Objective

To standardize the approach to recovering the incremental costs of providing Civil Aviation services inside/outside Canada.

Background

The evolving structure of the aviation industry has resulted in a growing demand for the provision of Civil Aviation services both inside and outside Canada. The incremental costs of meeting these requests can be significant.

In April 1997, the Treasury Board Secretariat promulgated its Cost Recovery and Charging Policy in which a number of underlying principles were set out, including the need for departments to:

• ensure that reasonable means are in place to notify applicants of new charges before they are introduced;
• give affected parties reasonable opportunity to provide input;
• establish a dispute resolution process to address complaints.

Policy Statement

Civil Aviation recovers the incremental costs of providing its services inside/outside Canada in keeping with the principles outlined above.

Application

This directive applies to two types of services; which are provided either at the request of or upon registration of an applicant:

• Non-fee services for which there are no charges set out in Subpart 104 of the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).
  
  
• Extra-ordinary services for which there are charges set out in CARs Subpart 104 but exceed a basic level of service that has been set out in a service delivery schedule.

Approach

Basic levels of service applicable to this Directive should be developed in consultation with applicants and made available to them so that they can plan their service requirements in such a way as to minimize the number of extraordinary regulatory service requests. It need not be so detailed as to identify actual service delivery dates months in advance, but it should indicate the frequency, geographic locations and types of service that are included in the basic level of service.

The development and implementation of basic service levels are a regional responsibility and do not require Headquarters approval. However, these service level standards should be filed with the Quality Assurance office in Program Services. This office will provide advice on developing service standards and on how to handle any complaints or concerns arising from their application.

Applicants are required to reimburse the Department for the following costs associated with providing of services in the above two categories:

1. transportation, lodging, meal, and incidental expenses, as calculated in accordance with the rates set out in the Treasury Board Manual — Personnel Management Component, Employee Services, Chapter 1.1;
    
2. overtime expenses, as calculated in accordance with the appropriate collective agreement, for performing the service, or traveling to perform the service:
    
   1. on Saturdays, Sundays and Canadian statutory holidays, and
       
   2. on weekdays, when the total duty time for the day exceeds 7.5 hours;
       
3. for non-fee services related to safety awareness and education, expenses related to facilities and materials.

Applicants are required to sign the attached Agreement, accepting liability for transportation, lodging, meal, incidental, and overtime expenses incurred. Upon request, the Department will notify the applicant, in writing, of the estimated cost in advance of providing the service. Subject to mutual agreement with the Department, the applicant may provide transportation and lodging in lieu of payment for these two items.

The expenses referred to above are payable in full and in Canadian funds to the Receiver General for Canada within 30 days after the date indicated on an invoice presented by the Minister of Transport.

As the Department has the authority to re-spend its recoveries, responsibility centre managers may seek approval to increase their spending authority by an equivalent amount.

This approval is generally granted in accordance with existing financial policy and procedures.

Further Information

Robert Sincennes
Director, Quality Assurance (AARF)
Telephone: (613) 993-8976
Facsimile: (613) 993-7038
E-mail: sincero@tc.gc.ca

Merlin Preuss
Director General
Civil Aviation

Effective date: October 4, 2002
Expiry date: This directive will be reviewed annually.