It was once again a very challenging summer for CATCA members as we continue to struggle with our staffing crisis. Although NAV has increased recruitment and training, progress towards improving staffing is slow and some units in particular are feeling the strain of that. Service disruptions and even unit closures have at times been unavoidable, but the CATCA membership has once again demonstrated their value to NAV by going above and beyond to step-up and fill the gaps. Those efforts have been recognized and acknowledged by senior management and many others and that is nice to see. Nevertheless, discussions with NAV are ongoing and we have more scheduled meetings upcoming to explore avenues to mitigate the impact of the situation in the near term. Disruptions and the attention they have drawn have created a lot of pressure on the Company and it is in all our interest to work to find ways of improving while maintaining safety as our number one priority.
The electoral review that is underway continues and has been contentious and distracting internally. I thank the entire Board for their professionalism as we continue to work through this, putting the interests of the membership first.
Significant work was done during our first Board Meeting and in the aftermath to develop clear objectives and priorities for the coming term. We are hoping to have those finalized at our upcoming Board Meeting later this month, so all are clear and united in pursuit of a common purpose. That plan will be presented at our CATCA Council Meeting to be scheduled early in the new year. Scheduling challenges made efforts to hold that meeting sooner impossible. More to come on that soon.
Also, coming out of that first meeting were several action items related to our Convention in June. Last week the minutes for the Convention were finalized (go to the Member Portal on our website) and will guide us through the implementation of those items. At the top of the list will be a plan to put in place an RVP to serve in our newly formed region and the establishment of a committee to examine issues related to the work of our bargaining group.
In the background, we have also been continuing to improve or communication channels. We’ve made great progress in streamlining communications directly to members from the National Office (following EB approval). Early results have been very positive, with over 85% of members opening and reading messages. We’ll continue to refine this capability to ensure the right mix of need-to-know and good-to-know information is being shared. These improvements will also help drive more members to the website – which is being refreshed. In addition, we are working on updating the CATCA App to make it easier to find the information and support members need. We will keep you updated on all changes being rolled out.
Recruitment efforts to replace the departed Karty Singh as our labour relations advisor have been successful and we are very pleased to announce that Natasha Udell will be joining the CATCA National Office as in house legal counsel and labour relations advisor at the end of October. Natasha brings very strong union labour relations experience with her and will be a very welcome addition to our group. Given that we continue to see increased numbers of grievances and disputes, her legal training and experience should prove very beneficial. A formal introduction to the membership through a B & F will be upcoming.
Headway has finally been made on our LOU related to classification and more information on that will be shared by the company at the end of the month. Specifics will be posted on our website and communicated as it becomes available.
On the fatigue front, we are meeting with Transport Canada and Nav this week to follow-up on the development of fatigue regulations that will be added to CAR’s in the future. The newly formed CATCA specific FSAG is also meeting this week to continue the work of navigating what may prove to be significant changes for members. We will continue to lobby hard to ensure that the regulations that are developed make sense and serve us in a positive way. There is still some way to go on this, but we will keep members updated as developments occur. Recent information has it that the return of the ICAO audit team has been pushed back by a year. So, the scheduled review that was to have occurred this coming December will now happen December ’26. It’s unclear how that may impact the pace of development on fatigue or other regulations.
On the topic of ICAO, it should be noted that CATCA was invited in an advisory capacity to form part of the Canadian delegation to the 42nd ICAO Assembly held in Montreal earlier this month. This was a huge honour and s significant symbolic victory establishing CATCA as a recognized and trusted stakeholder in the Canadian aviation system by the government. The work of ICAO is important to us because they develop the strategy and direction for civil aviation worldwide and define the standards and recommended practices which guide domestic policy and regulation.
CATCA is also continuing to monitor and engage on a number of level-of-service studies that are ongoing, including those for Kelowna, Yellowknife, Peterborough and Gatineau, among others. Interested members can find info related to those studies online at any time through this link: https://www.navcanada.ca/en/air-traffic/level-of-service-studies.aspx
Lastly, we are still awaiting next steps on the implementation of a Professional Standards Program for CATCA. A lot of work has been done over the last half year to develop a comprehensive proposal for a CATCA Professional Standards Program. We are hoping for an opportunity to present that to executive management this fall.
To all our members, thank you for your hard work over the summer and your ongoing commitment to our profession and keeping our skies safe.
In solidarity,
Nick von Schoenberg
President
&
Scott Loder
Executive Vice-President