About regulatory exemptions to the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs)

A regulatory exemption is a legal document that provides temporary relief to any person, aeronautical product, aerodrome, facility or service, or any class of persons, aeronautical products, aerodromes, facilities or services from complying with a specific regulatory requirement set out in the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs). The relief can also be extended to standards incorporated by reference into the regulations.

While an exemption provides temporary relief from specific regulatory requirements, it imposes conditions to ensure the exemption is not likely to adversely affect aviation safety or security and that its issuance is in the public interest.

Legal reference: subsection 5.9(2) of the Aeronautics Act.

How regulatory exemptions work

Global exemptions

In certain situations, the Minister may issue a global exemption to allow the entire industry, or specific sectors of the industry, to provide regulatory relief from all or part of a regulatory requirement. For example, global exemptions can be issued to facilitate the adoption of more environmentally friendly technologies.

When a global exemption is issued, all persons or organizations that are part of the exempted industry group are automatically exempted. They can operate under the conditions set out in the exemption for as long as the exemption remains in effect.

Global exemptions are initiated internally by Transport Canada Civil Aviation staff at Headquarters.

Regional exemptions

Even though exemptions are exceptional decisions taken by the Minister, any person or organization can request an exemption to temporarily be exempted from complying with certain regulatory requirements. Due to the exceptionality of these decisions, it is of critical importance that those interested in requesting an exemption contact the regional office to discuss the suitability of such an exemption prior to applying. To note, applications are then formally assessed, leading to a decision to grant or deny the exemption application.

Overview of the Regional Regulatory Exemption process

The regional regulatory exemption process can be broken down in 5 steps:

Step 1 – Seek guidance from the regional office to validate the suitability of the request and to learn about the submission requirements

Step 2 – Submit the exemption request package to your Transport Canada Civil Aviation Regional Office. The submission must include:

1. any documentation requested by the Transport Canada Officer
2. the proof of payment of the associated fees.

Information your exemption request must contain

An exemption request must provide compelling arguments that:

• explain the purpose and background of the request
• identify the regulatory provision(s) for which an exemption is requested
• substantiate how the exemption is in the public interest
• substantiate how the exemption is not likely to affect aviation safety and security
• explain why the exemption should be granted
• propose conditions to mitigate any risk that could be created by virtue of the exemption
• propose a validity period for the exemption

Once the exemption request is received, a technical and regulatory review will evaluate whether the exemption is in the public interest, and that it is not likely to adversely affect aviation safety or security of aviation operations. The applicant may be contacted during the evaluation for clarification or additional information as required.

Step 3 – Provide upon request, any additional information Transport Canada officials may need to complete the technical and regulatory evaluation. The applicant may be contacted during the evaluation process for clarification or additional information as required.

The evaluation may result in the granting of the exemption or the denial of the request. Once evaluated, a copy of the decision signed by the authorized officer will be provided to the applicant.

Step 4 – Become aware of the final decision issued by Transport Canada. The applicant is responsible for reviewing the final decision and to contact the regional office to seek any required clarification.

Step 5 – Start operations under the terms and conditions of the issued exemption or continue operations under current regulations if the exemption request is denied.

Regional and global exemptions are published on the Search exemptions webpage.

Questions

For any questions about the regulatory exemptions process, please contact your Transport Canada Civil Aviation regional inspector, or one of Transport Canada’s regional offices.