Will you have a place to land tomorrow?

Donate to the Special Action Fund today

Given the considerable challenges we continue to face against our freedom to fly, we urge everyone to consider donating to the Special Action Fund. We have all benefited significantly from those who donated before us.  Now it is time to ensure that we continue to be able to protect your freedom as well as the freedom of those who will follow us.

Click here for the Special Action Fund donation form

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Here are some examples of how the Special Action Fund has been applied to date.
(The complete text of several legal rulings in our favour can be found in the COPA Guide to Private Aerodromes under Member’s only):

- Funded Venchiarutti V. Longhurst and Longhurst (1992), a landmark ruling in which the Court of Appeal for Ontario confirmed the right of individuals to own and operate a private airstrip. The key decision in that case was “The Aeronautics Act makes no distinction between “airports” and “private airports,” both of which constitute matters of exclusive federal concern.”

- Funded legal representation before the Federal Court of Canada to successfully establish that Transport Canada's Letters of Counselling can be appealed to the Civil Aviation Tribunal (now the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada).

- Revenue Canada was convinced to eliminate 10 per cent Excise Tax on private aircraft.

- Participated in the resolution of a situation where a farmer's silo was being erected on the approach path to the Chatham Ontario airport, effectively shutting down a runway.

- Commissioned consultants on a variety of studies on issues affecting general aviation, including an economic impact study of General Aviation in the Calgary area which in turn led to an Airport Authority decision to help fund improvements and expansion at Springbank, Alberta; a study of the value of the Nelson, B.C. airport, and a study of the unpredictability of the weather in the area of the Banff and Jasper airstrips in support of their retention for our safety.

- Thwarted an attempt by Ontario Hydro to force an aerodrome owner to bury wires on his property despite the fact Transport Canada had determined the airstrip was safe and the risk was adequately addressed by a cautionary note in the CFS.

- Successfully defended pilots who were taken to court for landing at Banff and Jasper airstrips.

- Participated extensively over several years in the effort to convince the government to retain the Banff and Jasper airstrips.

- Successfully defended the rights of seaplane pilots to maintain their access to lakes in the Temagami Park area of Northern Ontario, then Kawartha Highlands and contributed to a study in support of retaining seaplane access to B.C. parks.

- Paid the legal expenses of an aircraft mechanic who was being challenged regarding his responsibility for the work of others. The successful outcome prevented an interpretation of the regulations that would have required mechanics to check all previous work performed by other mechanics; an expensive and unworkable provision.

- Paid a consultant to establish the positive impact of Delta Air Park, B.C. The study was instrumental in keeping the airport open following an ill-informed decision by officials to use the land as a parking lot for an adjacent park.

- Paid part of the legal expenses in the successful defence of two flying instructors who lost their flight testing privileges without due process of the law.

- Funded the successful lobby efforts of a consultant to overturn an Ontario Tax property reform initiative which treated private hangars as commercial property.

- Defended the rights of a seaplane base operator to install fuel tanks. The municipality backed down before the case proceeded to court, in part because of the threat of our substantial Special Action Fund.

Here are some examples of cases that are currently in process:

- The Cortes Island decision in our favour was being appealed by the municipality, but just as we went to press we learned the municipality has decided not to appeal the Cortes Island decision. Although this reinforces our win in BC, it does not overturn the Van Gool decision and so our freedom remains open to challenge with another case at any time.

- Completion of the long battle to save the Banff and Jasper airstrips, which is in the final stages of a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment. Funds have been reserved for an injunction to save them from being ploughed under if the government decides against the safety arguments and unprecedented response to the public consultation phase. These airstrips are vital for our safety when flying through the mountains. 

- An appeal is in process against the Quebec government’s Commission, responsible for protecting agricultural land. They have determined that aircraft do not belong on agricultural land and have served notice on several private aerodrome owners to remove their aircraft. This effort has the potential to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

- An aerodrome owner has been fined by a municipality for erecting a hangar on his aerodrome in violation of local bylaws. The municipality must be reminded that they have no jurisdiction.

Anyone can apply for financial assistance, but expenditures are carefully controlled by the COPA Directors who decide what projects are deserving of financial support.