Today, at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council meeting, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, presented a working paper which supports the Government of Canada’s Safer Skies Strategy.
The working paper, co-sponsored by eight other Council States (Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom), calls for more action by ICAO, with a proposal to further mitigate risks to civil aviation operations near or over conflict zones.
Canada continues to mourn the lives lost on January 8, 2020, when Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down near Tehran, Iran. Many of the 176 people who perished were Canadian. Others had close ties to Canada. Canada is committed to working with partners, including key countries, airlines, and ICAO to enhance the level of safety for commercial airlines travelling in higher risk areas and prevent future tragedies.
While at the ICAO Council meeting, the Minister seized on the opportunity to further impress upon the international community, and in particular Iran, that Canada expects the protocols set out in Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which requires that the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder be downloaded and analysed, be respected without any further delay.
Iran’s failure in this regard is inconsistent with the standards and recommended practices set out in Annex 13. Any lessons learned from this tragedy can only come from a full and transparent investigation.
