Order No. 2017-A-39

The applicant has applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) for an exemption from the requirement to hold a domestic licence to allow it to operate up to 25 flights between March 30, 2017 and June 30, 2017, from North Bay, Ontario, Canada to Mary River, Nunavut, Canada, to transport ore moving trucks and trailers on behalf of Baffinland Iron Mines (BIM) using an Ilyushin 76TD-90VD aircraft.

Paragraph 57(a) of the Canada Transportation Act, S.C., 1996, c. 10, as amended (CTA) provides that no person shall operate an air service unless, in respect of that service, the person holds a licence issued under Part II of the CTA.

While the applicant is licensed to operate a non-scheduled international service to transport goods on a charter basis between Russia and Canada, it has no authority to operate flights within Canada.

In support of its application, the applicant states that to sustain the commercial viability of the mine operation, a large and specialized aircraft has to be chartered from a foreign carrier as no Canadian carrier owns or operates a suitable aircraft type.

Therefore, in order to operate flights within Canada, the applicant is requesting an exemption from the requirement to hold a licence, as prescribed by paragraph 57(a) of the CTA, authorizing the operation of a domestic service.

Pursuant to paragraph 61(a) of the CTA, the Agency shall issue a licence to operate a domestic service to an applicant if the applicant establishes to the satisfaction of the Agency that it, among other things:

1. is a Canadian,
2. holds a Canadian aviation document in respect of the service to be provided under the licence; and,
3. has the prescribed liability insurance coverage in respect of the service to be provided under the licence.

On March 29, 2017, the Minister of Transport issued the Volga-Dnepr Airlines, Exemption Order 2017 pursuant to subsection 62(1) of the CTA, exempting the applicant from the requirement to be Canadian as set out in subparagraph 61(a)(i) of the CTA, under certain conditions, including the following:

• Volga-Dnepr Airlines may operate 25 domestic flights between March 30, 2017 and June 30, 2017, to transport ore moving trucks and trailers, on behalf of Baffinland Iron Mines, between North Bay, Ontario and the Mary River Aerodrome, Nunavut.
• Volga-Dnepr Airlines may operate one Ilyushin-76TD-90VD aircraft.
• Each flight segment (any single point‑to‑point movement of the aircraft) carrying cargo must only contain oversized and/or overweight material that requires an flyushin-76TD-9OVD type aeroplane to carry it (for example, it could not be carried in a B737-200).

On March 27, 2017, the Minister of Transport also exempted the applicant, until June 30, 2017, from the requirement to hold an air operator certificate to allow it to operate a domestic service between North Bay and Mary River.

The applicant has the prescribed liability insurance coverage in respect of the proposed operation.

The Agency has considered the application and finds that compliance by the applicant with paragraph 57(a) of the CTA is impractical in this case.

Accordingly, the Agency, pursuant to paragraph 80(1)(c) of the CTA, exempts the applicant from paragraph 57(a) of the CTA to allow it to operate 25 flights from North Bay to Mary River, to transport ore moving trucks and trailers on behalf of BIM using an Ilyushin 76TD-90VD aircraft.

This exemption is in effect during the period of validity of the Volga-Dnepr Airlines, Exemption Order 2017 dated March 29, 2017 and the Ministerial Exemption dated March 27, 2017.