Transcript
Aviation was always a passion for me when I was little. And when you have a passion you get hooked on, that’s what let my career take off.
My name is Martin Dufour, I’m a pilot at Transport Canada for the Coast Guard.
It started with someone coming to school to talk to us about Air Cadets; that immediately lit me up. Watching aviation films got me thinking. So I got a glider pilot’s license, I got an airplane pilot’s license at 17 years old. Andafter that, I got into the Centre québécois de formation aéronautique in Chicoutimi. I did three years of training, ten years in industry, and then I applied for a job with the Coast Guard. I’ve been with the Coast Guard for almost ten years.
The relationship between Transport Canada and the Coast Guard is a little unusual. Transport Canada has a division called the Aircraft Service. We’re like an airline, and we provide services to our clients. Our client in this case is the Coast Guard.
So the expertise is at Transport Canada. We have to prove like no other airline to the regulatory division of Transport Canada that we have qualified, experienced pilots; it’s very strict. We have to prove that we can sustain an airline and offer safe service by the rules of the trade. At the Coast Guard, they don’t have that expertise. So that’s why Transport Canada is in charge of the Coast Guard’s helicopters.
We’re often in remote areas without facilities. So it’s a lot like being a bush pilot. You have to be very resourceful. You always have to have a plan A, B and C. It takes a lot of experience. Experience can’t be given, you have to acquire it.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we hire the best. We’re Transport Canada: we have to be exemplary, we have to be impeccable. We’re proud, we want to do well, we want to give the maximum. Important jobs come with a lot of challenges and stress, but at the same time also a lot of pride.
I don’t even see it as a job. We’re paid to fly helicopters for the Coast Guard, to serve Canadians. We’re well supported, we’re well equipped. Each mission brings its share of challenges, but we see concrete results every day. It works because it’s a team effort. It’s the best career in the world.