The Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, issued this statement today to mark International Civil Aviation Day:
"As Canada's Minister of Transport, I am pleased to mark International Civil Aviation Day, which brings people together from all over the world. Today, we celebrate our collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and our other international aviation partners on this truly global issue that is civil aviation.
"As a founding member and a leading contributor, we are proud of our longstanding relationship, and Canada is honoured to host ICAO in Montréal, the world capital of civil aviation, as its home for more than 75 years.
"We also take this opportunity to reaffirm our unfailing commitment to working with ICAO to promote safe, secure, environmentally sustainable and accessible air travel. We are working hard to ensure that civil aviation management and governance in Canada reflect ICAO standards and recommended practices.
"To this end, in 2023, Transport Canada advanced several important measures to ensure the Canadian civil aviation system continues to embody internationally recognized ICAO standards. These include revising Canada's aviation safety regulatory frameworks, policies and procedures to increase alignment with international standards, particularly in the areas of aircraft operations, air navigation, aerodromes and the transportation of dangerous goods by air.
"We are also strengthening Transport Canada's oversight regime through modernization initiatives to support inspections, provide enhanced training opportunities, and generate better data for decision-making and resource allocation. We do all of this because safety is a key priority, and we value the crucial leadership role played by ICAO in keeping our skies safe and secure.
"At the same time, to enhance sustainability we are strengthening international collaboration to deliver on the recently announced ICAO global framework for a collective vision to reduce emissions from global fuel in aviation by five per cent by 2030, through a combination of sustainable aviation fuel, low carbon aviation fuel and advanced technologies. We are also committed to driving down emissions form the domestic aviation sector. This involves the development and implementation of Canada's Aviation Climate Action Plan as well as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blueprint.
"As we prepare to mark ICAO's 80th anniversary next year, we will continue to work very closely with our global aviation partners to advance civil aviation in Canada and around the world."
