TC to suspend license over unpaid $55 fee

[POATC]

A what?

A what?

A cheque. You know, those small things you write on to transfer money from your account to some other person or company.

Jeebus I must be getting old....

Frankly 5 minutes of my time every 6 months isn't enough to get worked up about.

Dude you seriously need to read your medical validity page of your ADB.

[Meatservo]

Are they cashing these "cheque" things that you're dutifully consigning the the aether, Big Pistons Forever?

Canada Post is only slightly less worthless than Transport Canada. I get anxiety ever time I need to count on them to get anything right.

[Rockie]

I've been mailing them cheques since before personal computers were invented and never had a problem. I seriously have to question the judgement and prioritization skills of people who risk their livelihood over a yearly $55 licensing fee.

[trey kule]

User pay. Call it what you will, but is a tax. Instead of raising taxes the people in power decide to sell the idea that they would give us something for the fee. That went away but the fee continued.

As long as people keep paying these fees, the folks who we call government will increase them, initiate new ones, and all the while sell the idea od user pay.

It will not stop until literally everyone refuses, as they can go after one person at a time.

Garnishing income tax returns. Legally questionable, but until they cross the wrong person no one is going to challange it for $55....something they are counting on. Ethics and government are two words that never should be in the same sentence.

Kudos to all those who refuse to pay. Make it expensive and difficult to collect and they will raise the fee, and keep raising it as long as they can, but like cigarette taxes, in the end they will alienate everyone and trigger a backlash.
Pay it like good sheep and they will increase it.

They do not know when to stop. At least this kind of protest slows the increases down

[tower controller]

Can someone explain why ATC have no fee to process their medicals, but pilots do?

ATC medicals are subject to the same fees as pilot's medicals, as a matter of fact they are the same medicals...

Controllers employed by Nav Canada have their medical processing fees paid by Nav Canada and billed directly to Nav Canada, but they are paid same as yours.

[HiFlyChick]

It will not stop until literally everyone refuses, as they can go after one person at a time....

Kudos to all those who refuse to pay. Make it expensive and difficult to collect and they will raise the fee, and keep raising it as long as they can, but like cigarette taxes, in the end they will alienate everyone and trigger a backlash.
Pay it like good sheep and they will increase it....

Ummmmmm, and cigarettes don't have a tax on them....

While we're at it, why don't we stop paying our income taxes as well? So it's a tax - so what? It is what it is and there are a certainly a lot more important battles to fight. If you think a bunch of people just not paying will make a difference then you are either very naïve or 12... or maybe both.

Gotta run - got my $55 bill in the mail just the other day and I'm off to pay it online.... (and no, I'm not kidding)

[HiFlyChick]

And that's all done (for another 6 months)
And it took me how many minutes...? (course it would've been faster if I hadn't mis-entered my credit card's expiry date)

[AirFrame]

Ummmmmm, and cigarettes don't have a tax on them....

Riiiiight. $12 (or whatever) a pack and you think none of that is tax? It's all tax, on people too dumb to quit smoking.

[Liquid Charlie]

So -- we all pay taxes and b1tch about it -- well my opinion we should pay more tax and have the government support us more but who could trust them to do so -- for the 55 bucks -- who really cares but one area that does need addressing is the fees the doctors charge to do the medicals -- maybe they should be covered under health care but no -- the fees make no sense to me -- from a high of about $250 to a low of around $60 -- for those trapped in an area where they have you by the short and curlys it makes no sense to me -- It is cheaper for me to fly to TB and back - rent a car and still be $150 bucks ahead - I could even drive and cost less -- go figure --

[HiFlyChick]

Ummmmmm, and cigarettes don't have a tax on them....

Riiiiight. $12 (or whatever) a pack and you think none of that is tax? It's all tax, on people too dumb to quit smoking.

Forgot the html tags:
[sarcasm]...[/sarcasm]

You men - you never read tone

[TG]

Ethics and government are two words that never should be in the same sentence.

Kudos to all those who refuse to pay. Make it expensive and difficult to collect and they will raise the fee, and keep raising it as long as they can, but like cigarette taxes, in the end they will alienate everyone and trigger a backlash.
Pay it like good sheep and they will increase it.

They do not know when to stop. At least this kind of protest slows the increases down

That way of thinking worked great in Greece.
A country bankrupt where its national sport for years has been.... Not paying any taxes!

They are all crying mama to come to the rescue...... Sure!
Ethics goes both ways. It has to be shown by a government but also the people!







Call me sheep


Edit: To go back to the topic, like Liquid Charlie is saying, I see more doctors' fees going up and up being an issue.

[EPR]

Cap'n Tripps...well said!

Can someone explain why ATC have no fee to process their medicals, but pilots do?

Why can't I pay a flat one time fee with the issue of a booklet instead of twice yearly?

Just what exactly are they doing with the $55 fee which is paid to the receiver general?

Does it really cost that much to process and file a medical? If it does cost that much, shouldn't the process be changed to make it more efficient?

Why do I need to make an appointment to visit TC office? Why am I made to feel like I'm somehow intruding on TC's important work when I have an issue I need to deal with them on?

Why do I get different points of view to an issue depending on which TC office I contact or even different inspectors within the same office?

Why is the only person who can answer a question always on vacation?

Is the person(s) doing the medical processing and filing not doing anything else for TC that they are receiving a paycheque for? If not, why am I subsidizing the federal government? Isn't that what my taxes are for?

Why is TC potentially threatening my livelihood over a completely arbitrary $55 fee?



Just asking. (seriously!)

I just received my new "Aviation Document" and the same letter about suspension all in the same week...lol..I owe since 2008!

[Rockie]

It's been $55 for as long as I can remember - which is a pretty long time - so I'm not sure where the impression comes from that it's increasing. And all you guys high fiving yourselves and dislocating your shoulders patting yourself on the back for sticking it to the man will no doubt enjoy telling your CP why you can't fly until you get your license returned should TC do what they say they're going to do. He might be very supportive of your quest to reign in unfair taxes, but on the other hand he might decide you're an idiot and can look for another job at the same time you beg TC for your license back.

I know I would send someone packing if they came to me with that ridiculous excuse for losing their license.

[Cap'n Tripps]

Can someone explain why ATC have no fee to process their medicals, but pilots do?

ATC medicals are subject to the same fees as pilot's medicals, as a matter of fact they are the same medicals...

Controllers employed by Nav Canada have their medical processing fees paid by Nav Canada and billed directly to Nav Canada, but they are paid same as yours.

I beg to differ, just because Nav Canada (a federal Crown corporation much like Canada Post) pays the processing fee directly, most definitely does not make them paid "same as ours". Are there controllers in Canada not employed by Nav Canada? If they are not paid out of pocket, then it seems to me that the government is subsidizing their own controllers. Are the medicals themselves conducted by a Nav Canada doctor or are they paid out of pocket by the individual controllers?

Just doesn't seem like a level playing field to me, especially if it's the 'same' medical.

Just wondering some more.

[tower controller]

Nav Canada is a private not for profit corporation and is not a crown corporation. The company paying our medical fees is a negotiated item like our salary and holidays.

Yes there are controllers not employed by Nav Canada, the controllers in Goose Bay and Southport are not Nav Canada employees, I have no idea if their employers pay their medical fees.

There aren't any Nav canada doctors, I go to the same doctor as the local pilots for my Medical.

I don't pay him or Transport Canada it gets billed to the company.


Tc

[Rockie]

Some aviation companies reimburse their pilots for the medical fee as well just like NavCanada. It is a benefit of employment and nothing to do with the government. I doubt military controllers are required to have a civilian licence since they don't control civilian airspace, but if they are no doubt the military would pay their fee.

[N2]

Don't feel bad I just got dinged by Nav Canada for an aircraft that hasn't flown in years. Tried to get a username and password to the AAIR website to provide print screens of the craft being inactive and lets just say I would have better luck asking my cat to provide me with access. Canadian bureaucracy just gotta love it!

[AuxBatOn]

Nav Canada is a private not for profit corporation and is not a crown corporation. The company paying our medical fees is a negotiated item like our salary and holidays.

Yes there are controllers not employed by Nav Canada, the controllers in Goose Bay and Southport are not Nav Canada employees, I have no idea if their employers pay their medical fees.

There aren't any Nav canada doctors, I go to the same doctor as the local pilots for my Medical.

I don't pay him or Transport Canada it gets billed to the company.


Tc

Don't get the truth get in the way of a good rant!!

[looproll]

1996 was the last time Transport Canada was running ATC and air traffic services in Canada. Why do people still think NavCanada is associated with the government?

[vanNostrum]

1996 was the last time Transport Canada was running ATC and air traffic services in Canada. Why do people still think NavCanada is associated with the government?

Perhaps has something to do with the salaries,benefits, job security and pensions that NavCanada employees enjoy.
In general such largesse is only found in Government agencies.