Information on The Owner's Club, otherwise known as The Helicopter Association of Canada, is available on its website. Its head office is in Ottawa where it can effectively lobby Transport Canada concerning whatever matters it deems appropriate.
There can be no doubt that this lobbying is effective. One only has to recall that when the Pilot Flight and Duty Time regulations were first enacted, the 30 day limit for air time for pilots was 120 hours. The wails and moans from the operators could be heard from coast to coast. Apparently, it was just not possible to operate under such restrictive rules. After much rending of hair and gnashing of teeth, the standard was changed to 150 hours in a 30 day period. There have been other such changes. Rooting through the CARS at TC's website will reveal just how often the regulations are amended. This sort of thing doesn't happen unless someone has a hissy fit.
Engineers and pilots should learn from this that an Association would benefit them greatly. In particular, Transport Canada would have bona fide input from the population of helicopter workers across the country. Why these workers hesitate to associate is no mystery. They fear ostracism, and perhaps rightly so as the control freaks of the helicopter establishment in Canada will not cede their power without one hell of a fight. If the Union ball ever gets rolling, there may be blood, even though freedom of association is one of the most fundamental rights of democracy.
And guess what? The Helicopter Engineers and Pilots Association of Canada actually exists. There are good people at the helm, including Blackmac, a stalwart gentleman who endured much aggravation in his efforts to found an appropriate and necessary organization that would be of great benefit to his fellow pilots. Suggestions have been made that he is unfit to lead because he is bluntly vociferous. Nothing could be further from the truth. When fighting fire, a good weapon to use is fire itself.
"The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it."
Woodrow Wilson
There can be no doubt that this lobbying is effective. One only has to recall that when the Pilot Flight and Duty Time regulations were first enacted, the 30 day limit for air time for pilots was 120 hours. The wails and moans from the operators could be heard from coast to coast. Apparently, it was just not possible to operate under such restrictive rules. After much rending of hair and gnashing of teeth, the standard was changed to 150 hours in a 30 day period. There have been other such changes. Rooting through the CARS at TC's website will reveal just how often the regulations are amended. This sort of thing doesn't happen unless someone has a hissy fit.
Engineers and pilots should learn from this that an Association would benefit them greatly. In particular, Transport Canada would have bona fide input from the population of helicopter workers across the country. Why these workers hesitate to associate is no mystery. They fear ostracism, and perhaps rightly so as the control freaks of the helicopter establishment in Canada will not cede their power without one hell of a fight. If the Union ball ever gets rolling, there may be blood, even though freedom of association is one of the most fundamental rights of democracy.
And guess what? The Helicopter Engineers and Pilots Association of Canada actually exists. There are good people at the helm, including Blackmac, a stalwart gentleman who endured much aggravation in his efforts to found an appropriate and necessary organization that would be of great benefit to his fellow pilots. Suggestions have been made that he is unfit to lead because he is bluntly vociferous. Nothing could be further from the truth. When fighting fire, a good weapon to use is fire itself.
"The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it."
Woodrow Wilson
