AIAC Committee Update – September 2018

September 5, 2018

AIAC’s committees are central to the AIAC’s policy and advocacy functions. Members of these committees provide industry insights and guidance with respect to issues related to specific industry segments or topics of concern or interest.

Members wishing to join a committee can contact Marie-Soleil Jones. If you are a non-member and interested in joining a committee, please contact Bill Yetman at byetman@aiac.ca.

Small Business Committee

The AIAC Small Business Committee is currently engaged in the planning of its 2018-19 calendar. Site-visits at Bell Helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec, as well as Viking Air in Calgary, Alberta, are currently being scheduled. These site-visits will allow committee members to see firsthand how these various organizations operate. The visits are to be followed by an official and extended AIAC Small Business Committee meeting with high level executives of the visited facility. The committee is also organizing to meet with the leaders of several governmental programs which are seen as especially valuable to small business owners and operators in the aerospace field. These meetings will include members of the Build in Canada Innovation Program, the Accelerated Growth Strategy, the Future Aircrew Training program and many more. For more information, or to become a member of the AIAC Small Business Committee, please contact Marie-Soleil at MSoleilJones@aiac.ca.

The next meeting of the Small Business Committee is on September 26th at AIAC’s offices.

 

Space Committee

The AIAC Space Committee is deeply engaged in its outreach and in-reach strategies. The value of a space research and development portion in the Canadian Governments mandate as well as its budget is treated as the most important and pressing issue. The committee is currently drafting several documents to arm the Canadian citizenship, government and industry with the basic knowledge required to understand the wide scope of possibilities involved in Space research and development. Certain committee members have participated in the first round of the Bring Your MP to Work Day event, and several more are planned to take part in the second day of this outreach program, scheduled for September 7, 2018. For more information on this event, please contact Darya Dolzikova at DDolzikova@aiac.ca. To become a member of the AIAC Space Committee please contact Marie-Soleil at MSoleilJones@aiac.ca.

The next meeting of the AIAC Space Committee is on September 28th at AIAC’s offices.

 

Technology and Innovation Committee

The AIAC Technology and Innovation Committee’s (TICA) goal is to advise and assist the government in developing policies and programs to meet the technological, industrial and skill development of the aerospace industry; and in resolving issues relating to the implementation of policies and programs. Recently, the committee examined the latest developments of the Innovation and Skills agenda and the NRC’s strategic vision, including the mutual benefits of close collaboration between NRC, industry and universities / colleges. Senior executives from ISED and various other key federal government are also regularly invited to discuss policy development with TICA members. This fall, TICA plans to organize two roundtables and one extended meeting in order to fully address all current issues and opportunities. If you are interested in joining TICA, please contact Marie-Soleil at MSoleilJones@aiac.ca

The next meeting of the AIAC Technology and Innovation Committee is on October 30th at AIAC’s offices.

 

Civil Aviation Committee

The AIAC Civil Aviation Committee was briefed on the status of maintenance and airworthiness bilaterals by key members of TCCA. The ongoing consultations regarding CAR 104 were explained with special attention paid to the potential removal of fee caps and the financial impacts that this change could engender. Several other discussions were had concerning the TCCA organizational structure, the international standard for SMS design and much more. The next committee meeting will tackle issues such as TCCA policies / regulations on cannabis use, the Transport Canada Delegates conference and much more. For more information, or to become a member of the AIAC Civil Aviation Committee, please contact Marie-Soleil at MSoleilJones@aiac.ca.

The next meeting of the AIAC Civil Aviation Committee is on September 13th at AIAC’s offices.

 

Market Access Committee

The AIAC Market Access Committee has recently focused on the status of exemption requests, export permits requests and EDC financing. The retaliatory measures put in place by the Canadian government to counteract the Aluminum and Steel tariffs imposed by the American government, were discussed. It was noted that with help from AIAC’s management team, the successful removal of certain valuable goods from the Canadian tariffs list was achieved. The next committee meeting will include briefings from Mr. Bradley Jablonski, CBSA and Ms. Michele Govier, Department of Finance, on CBSA’s existing duty drawback program and a proposed remission. For more information, or to become a member of the AIAC Market Access Committee, please contact Marie-Soleil at MSoleilJones@aiac.ca.

The next meeting of the AIAC Market Access Committee is on September 11th at AIAC’s offices.