COPA Special Action Fund needs your help

7th March 2008

In 2005, we had a huge win for our freedom to fly. The Cortes Island, B.C. legal case involved the right to establish a private airstrip without interference from local bylaws, building permits or zoning provisions.

It is an important case because, in addition to permitting continued operation of that airstrip, it will help overturn a B.C. court decision (the Van Gool case) from years ago which established that local governments can control aviation below the level of certified airports.

The win in the Cortes case required substantial funding for our legal counsel, Dan Cornell, to prepare for and make several representations, direct the efforts of a legal firm in B.C. as well as attend and present at the trial.

The financial assistance came from your Special Action Fund - a $1 million fund that was raised from COPA members several years ago in order to protect your freedom to fly.

This “war chest” has been used over the years on select court cases, studies and other projects to defend our freedom and educate various levels of government and the public about our sector of aviation.

The Special Action Fund (SAF) was established in 1978 to help finance a campaign to convince the government to stop a 10 percent excise tax on private aircraft purchases. Members quickly responded and COPA subsequently was successful in eliminating the tax.

In 1984, facing a number of challenges to our freedom to fly, the SAF was incorporated and expenditure approval procedures formalized by the COPA Board of Directors.

The SAF goal was set at $2 million. This high goal was established for two reasons. It was felt by the COPA Board that a large sum of money would act as a deterrent against frivolous cases, such as not-in-my-backyard neighbours or uninformed municipal officials making convenient decisions against “the little guy.”

And, it was felt a large sum of money would provide a source of interest income so that eventually, the fund would be self-sustaining.

The SAF reached $1 million by 1996. Since the interest rates at that time were very good, it was decided to stop soliciting for contributions and build the fund through interest income.

The plan was successful when interest rates were well into the double digits and the challenges were relatively few, but unfortunately this is no longer the case. Despite prudent spending, the combination of low interest rates and increasing expenditures for legal action and other projects has resulted in the excess over the $1 million to be depleted.

The most recent challenge is in Quebec, where precedents were set many years ago against the federal jurisdiction concept. COPA has been active in two cases, referred to Laferriere and Air Mauricie, to overturn these previous cases. A three-member Court of Appeal found in favour of our position on all accounts and even overturned previous decisions in the matter of federal jurisdiction. These cases consumed a large amount of the Fund but they brought Quebec in line with the rest of the country as well as reaffirmed previous decisions in other provinces, in many of which COPA’s Special Action Fund was financially involved.

Although the battle is won on the two cases in Quebec, the war may not be over. As of the date of this article, we did not know whether or not the opponents will appeal. If they do, one or both cases may go to the Supreme Court of Canada to, hopefully, once and for all settle the matter of federal jurisdiction. This will be a very expensive effort and may deplete the Fund to the point where we cannot proceed with other challenges facing our freedom to fly.

We therefore have no choice but to again appeal to you for donations. The goal has been set at raising another $1 million through contributions and prudent investing of the funds.

Below is an explanation of why it is important to maintain this war chest. The stated objectives of the Special Action Fund Inc. were and still are:

1) to support the aims, objectives and activities of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association; and

2) to solicit monies by way of donations or otherwise and to hold and expend the same in the furtherance of the objectives stated above.

 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 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. Details concerning the application process can be found at Procedures for Special Action Fund applications.

There are a variety of ways to donate. An online form is available (see link below). As well, membership renewal forms contain a line on which you can specify a donation.

Since the SAF is not a charity, donations are not eligible for tax receipts. You will, however, receive a receipt for your donation for your records.

Given the considerable challenges that we continue to face against our freedom to fly, everyone should consider donating whatever you can afford. We have all benefited significantly from those who donated to this point. 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.

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 on the member’s only section of our web site):

- 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.

- Defended the right of an aerodrome owner in Quebec who was ordered by the agricultural land commission to remove his airstrip and hangar.

- Defended a Quebec commercial operator who was prohibited from running a floatplane sight-seeing operation..