Having issues with Medical?

[Fly_HI]

Hey Nomedical,
Congrats!!!
I wish if this thread had started earlier or maybe i should've. Gave my initial category1 medical in May 2019, received in May 2024.
Back and forth emails, tests, assumptions, presumptions, false information made by the Medical Examiner. It was a bloody chaos.
Even went to the local MP, they had no bloody idea what was going on. One of their reps from the MP office calls and goes" we have checked, you are not on any NO-FLY list".
My file had gone to the AMRB three times and finally they gave me the category 1. I flew with a international airline for 14 years. Accumulated more than 6000 flying hours. Last airplane flew was B777. After 5 years of all this crap, they came back and said exactly the same thing what my ICAO medical examiner had said when this certain issue happened with my eye sight in 2016. Get 2 independent opinions on every medical!
And it took them 5 years.
Now starting to get back in the game, preping to write exams and flight checks. But half a decade for sure.
What i would tell anyone, just keep at it, don't give up! I know its frustrating, its a killer, but what to do. I used to write every now and then on the enquiry form that they have on the TC website. When i started this process in 2019, none of that was there. Even their office in Toronto has no one. Its just good to give exams. I have a few contact emails/cont numbers, if anyone wants. Pleas DM me.
BTW, what's the BEST material to read for CPL/INRAT?

[Dry Guy]

Congratulations Fly_Hi!
Do happen to know approximately how many pilots are currently in the queue for the AMBR? Single, double, or triple digits?

[Nomedical]

Congratulations Fly_Hi!
Do happen to know approximately how many pilots are currently in the queue for the AMBR? Single, double, or triple digits?

Make a request through acc we to information act and ask https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?at ... y%20Canada

Anything to officially put TC on the radar as one of many failing government organizations that are being directed by an incompetent child.

[Nomedical]

DBL post

[Nomedical]

If you’re a Canadian and a pilot don’t be afraid to remind TC that they are part of the public service sector of the government of Canada. As a tax paying citizen you need them to do their job and service YOU, the public. They work for you, a tax paying citizen and owe you to do their job as an absolute minimum. Remember they work for you. This isn’t a dictatorship, they’re not part of a dictator government. They need to: Do. Their. Jobs. Or leave.

[Widebody777er]

Hello Im having the same issue.TC pacific RAMO is asking me to do tests and I do them and then wants more and seems to be making excuses on why they wont approve my class one. Im passing all tests and 3 docs now recommending Its okay to give me my medical Can someone please PM me with some contacts ?
Thank you

[Nomedical]

Hello Im having the same issue.TC pacific RAMO is asking me to do tests and I do them and then wants more and seems to be making excuses on why they wont approve my class one. Im passing all tests and 3 docs now recommending Its okay to give me my medical Can someone please PM me with some contacts ?
Thank you

Call your MP. Next time you email the TC RAMO cc your MP, the minister of transport and Pierre Poilievre.

I have heard this same story too many times. I’ve also heard this is there standard move because they’re so backlogged. Repeat medical testing so we don’t have to review it.

Have one of the doctors that said you’re fit write a letter specifically stating that repeating these medical tests is unnecessary and adding to the strain of an already overburdened healthcare system.

[flightfree]

Hey nomedical, thank you for sharing your experiences on here! It gives me some hope that the nightmare won’t last forever… but it does last too long. I would love to get in with you as I am yrying to organize for my own struggle with Transport Canada. Just sent a friend request.

[1976pilot]

Going to post this quickly... I've lost 3 previous attempts to post... keeps going back to login!
Thanks Nonmedical!
Emailed this to a friend and pilot a few days ago:
Got the response from Toronto on Nov. 6th.
So, they responded in a timely fashion, approx. 6 weeks.
Based on the medical reports they requested in July (going back to 2021) and I compiled and submitted in early September (approx.. 80 pages), I thought they might have an issues with one medical condition I’m currently dealing with (ITP/low platelet count).
I was wrong!
They picked through the reports and found 3 medical conditions which make me unfit to fly.
I think if they read the reports carefully they would have seen that two of those conditions are no longer an issue.
Go figure!
Seems like they want me to stop flying today for conditions that were taken care of years ago.
My cynical opinion is they picked through my reports with one goal in mind: find fault with my health and revoke my medical.
If there was a worst case interpretation of the medical condition I have (or had), they took it!
One of the conditions was “resolved” (the word the specialist used to describe the situation) three years ago.
The other condition is in “remission” (again the word another specialist used) one and a half years ago.
And the condition I’m dealing with now probably should have left me in a vegetative state because (a quote from the Nov. 6th letter):
“76% of patients with ITP and persistently low platelets will have at least 1 major (though nonfatal) bleeding event over 2 years.”
I have no idea where Dr. ????? from TC dug that one up!
(that quote completely lacks supporting details: what age group are we talking about, what does “persistently low platelets” mean? Give me a number!)
Has Dr. ??????? considered I’ve had this condition for almost 4 years now and absolutely no sign of a bleeding event? And my hematologist doesn’t think I’m at risk.
Also, as a doctor can she understand that two people with exactly the same diagnosis can have completely different outcomes?
My outcome’s been very good!

Good news is Dr. Gary Magee is working with me to get past this.
Also my two specialists have indicated they have no issue with me flying.
I think I have a good chance of getting my medical back.
It’s frustrating as hell dealing with TC CAM.
It’s like they throws this stuff on the wall to see if anything sticks!
And that is taking up a lot of my time and the time of busy medical specialists who could spend that time doing something better.
A voice in the back of my head keeps asking: does this have anything to do with my age?
After all, we are the low hanging fruit if you’re looking to revoke pilot’s medicals.

[flightfree]

This thread has been very troubling to read. It's clear that this issue of being in certification limbo has affected the Canadian industry for a long time, and it is incredible to me that no improvement has been made.

This treatment by Transport Canada can be viewed as discriminatory. If you are classed as "medically complex", you are waiting indefinitely and forced to go through round after round of medical testing and bureaucratic nonsense. The communication or lack of is extremely demoralizing and even cruel - having paid for flight school and only partially finished it, I am waiting for my medical certificate to make life decisions without any ability to plan. I feel trapped in waiting.

On more than one interaction with TC staff, I have been made to feel that I deserve this experience, because my case is deemed complex. But deemed complex by whom? They decided that. My doctors have said I am fit to fly. Honestly, in our modern society with so much information at our fingertips, shouldn't the expectation be that everyone has a complex medical case - we just don't know it yet? Who doesn't have a peanut allergy or deal with stress or gets sick from time to time? I have known seemingly healthy people who suddenly dropped dead of cardiac arrest. Could you not actually embrace a pilot whose medical issue is known and managed, versus a pilot who has latent potential for a medical issue with no idea what might trigger it? The probability of any human to have a medical emergency in a flight is not 0.

TC should be ashamed of treating us this way. It's inhumane. Sometimes I wish they would just deny me outright rather than stringing me along with maybes forever. Then at least I can go to the Tribunal for a proper review. This process is awful and I feel for anyone else who goes through it.

[Dry Guy]

I'm sorry to hear this issue is affecting new pilots as well as us in the industry. Personally I have been waiting 1.5 years to get my life back. I don't know how much longer I can go on.

[Dias]

.

[Airspeed Addict]

I'm a board member for the College of Professional Pilots of Canada - I too have dealt with the absurd bureaucracy and red tape of having my medical primarily invalidated, then restricted. In my case it was a minor even that happened when travelling overseas on vacation. TC CAM took 8 months to decide to put my on a 6 month renewal instead of 12 at which point I had long recovered from the incident (the incident itself didn't even require any medication or procedure) Then a year after that, they put me on a 2 crew restriction (now over a year and a half since the original incident had occurred and subsequent recovery) I'm now in year 2 of having to do continuous bloodwork and urinalysis that as you can guess, have all been COMPLETELY normal. Throughout this process the RAMO had made several inaccurate conclusions based on clearly present information and had also erroneously documented my file on several occasions (a BIG no no in the medical field).

The CPPC is a volunteer board that is establishing a frame work for identifying issues with our regulatory agency (TC) in areas such as medicals, out dated regulations and a general lack of fiduciary responsibility to pilots. I would like to encourage as many people as possible to send us an email containing a PDF document outlining issues you have or continue to face with regards to medicals, delays, restrictions - general incompetence and negligence. It is our hope in the future to create a type of Ombudsman position to establish oversight for TC and force accountability and transparency for the public. Any information we can gather will greatly help us in achieving this goal. Any information received will be kept strictly confidentially and not disclosed without direct consent for the individual(s) involved.

Information can be sent to info@collegeofpilots.ca Please use subject line "Problems with TCCA"

[avDaddo]

This thread is both distressing, and englightening. I am sorry to be reading the way pilots lives are being turned upside down by TC.

I'm the father of a young man who has been waiting now, nearing 1 and half years since filing his first class 1 medical, and who had to take a year off after graduating high school because he didn't get his initial clearance in time, and couldn't register at aviation school. He now is facing the same problem due to not hearing anything since filing his reports back in December.

We went through a CAME, we were 100% transparent about him being a cancer survivor from the age of 1 and a half years old, but who has been in clinical remission now for 17 years.

We got all the reports done - oncoloist, cardiologist, and he's had both excellent reports done up on his overall health and fitness.

At one point, he tried to send a message through the portal, and they basically told him not to contact them anymore.

I feel strongly that, not only because of his medical history and our experience, but reading some of the things being discussed in this thread, there is a strong case here for TC profiling pilots. And if there is any counter argument that it's due to backlog, the optics are horrendous, and they need to better manage it.

I just landed on this thread about 20 minutes ago, and I'm still trying to parse/process a lot of what I read. As a parent, my primary purpose is to direct my kids into a career path that will give them as best a chance to make it on their own.

Presently, I am considering filing an ATIP and developing some strategies around having a full understanding, which we don't currently have, because any two-way comunication with them seems impracticaly and non-existent. If I'm asking something out of line, please let me know, but I am curious if anyone has established any traction with the Human Rights Commission, and if they did, what were their experiences.

Thank-you, and I hope whoever is dealing with this gets the positive outcome they deserve. It isn't right hearing the length of time career pilots are having to wait for clearance to earn their livelihood.

[Dias]

At one point, he tried to send a message through the portal, and they basically told him not to contact them anymore.

This is how you can tell the system is a bureaucracy. You aren't alone in this experience either. Many people that have tried to question TC Medicine have been threatened by them. Usually with a letter telling them they will be punished with even longer wait times if they don't keep their mouth shut. It's harassment, and it's illegal. I do suggest going to the Human Rights Commission and relating your experience to them. It's easy to do with their online application system.

[Inverted2]

Have you considered legal action against them? That would be an avenue I would consider. It might be worth a look.

[BigQ]

In 2024, I was sent a letter requiring me to test for 2 conditions due to my BMI. While I tested negative for the first condition, I badly failed for the second, despite having 0 associated symptoms. Nevertheless, medical pulled until condition proven treated satisfactorily.

I was able to do my renewal about 2 weeks ago with all documentation supporting treatment, and yesterday, having heard nothing, gave a courtesy call "to make sure all documents required had been received" hint hint wink wink. The gentleman who took my call looked at my file, saw that medical and documents had been received, and had been reviewed by "somebody, over a week ago". However, there was no indication of approval or not, or indication of communication telling me to provide further documentation. Almost as if I'm in a limbo...

I would think it would be rather simple to review a file, see all attached letters from specialists, results of tests and treatment, and say yes, no, or not yet. But, what do I know, I'm just a simple professional pilot. Still, solidarity with everyone who has had a hell of a time getting their medicals back. It's only been a one and a half month ordeal over here. In the meantime I'm planting my garden.

[Daniel Cooper]

Talk about overreach. Professional pilots are trustworthy people and will tell their CAME if they are experiencing symptoms or health problems. TC's mandate is to process medicals submitted by CAMEs. They can't even handle the cases they do have, and now they are chasing pilots to get additional preemptive medical tests beyond Category 1 requirements.

[dustyroads]

In 2024, I was sent a letter requiring me to test for 2 conditions due to my BMI. While I tested negative for the first condition, I badly failed for the second, despite having 0 associated symptoms. Nevertheless, medical pulled until condition proven treated satisfactorily.

I was able to do my renewal about 2 weeks ago with all documentation supporting treatment, and yesterday, having heard nothing, gave a courtesy call "to make sure all documents required had been received" hint hint wink wink. The gentleman who took my call looked at my file, saw that medical and documents had been received, and had been reviewed by "somebody, over a week ago". However, there was no indication of approval or not, or indication of communication telling me to provide further documentation. Almost as if I'm in a limbo...

I would think it would be rather simple to review a file, see all attached letters from specialists, results of tests and treatment, and say yes, no, or not yet. But, what do I know, I'm just a simple professional pilot. Still, solidarity with everyone who has had a hell of a time getting their medicals back. It's only been a one and a half month ordeal over here. In the meantime I'm planting my garden.

Last year you got medical back after proven condition was treated satisfactory, a couple weeks ago you were fit to fly up until you did renewal but the renewal can’t be confirmed until TC approves the submission?

[BigQ]

In 2024, I was sent a letter requiring me to test for 2 conditions due to my BMI. While I tested negative for the first condition, I badly failed for the second, despite having 0 associated symptoms. Nevertheless, medical pulled until condition proven treated satisfactorily.

I was able to do my renewal about 2 weeks ago with all documentation supporting treatment, and yesterday, having heard nothing, gave a courtesy call "to make sure all documents required had been received" hint hint wink wink. The gentleman who took my call looked at my file, saw that medical and documents had been received, and had been reviewed by "somebody, over a week ago". However, there was no indication of approval or not, or indication of communication telling me to provide further documentation. Almost as if I'm in a limbo...

I would think it would be rather simple to review a file, see all attached letters from specialists, results of tests and treatment, and say yes, no, or not yet. But, what do I know, I'm just a simple professional pilot. Still, solidarity with everyone who has had a hell of a time getting their medicals back. It's only been a one and a half month ordeal over here. In the meantime I'm planting my garden.

Last year you got medical back after proven condition was treated satisfactory, a couple weeks ago you were fit to fly up until you did renewal but the renewal can’t be confirmed until TC approves the submission?

no, letter came late last year, did testing late winter this year. Medical pulled after results came in, just redid medical but waiting approval

[Jean-Pierre]

I'm starting to wonder if there is an ongoing campaign by this government to reduce the number of pilot in Canada for climate change reason. But if that was the case why did they interfere in WestJet AME and Air Canada pilot contract negotiations to prevent strikes.

[ads-b]

Probably a bit of an outside shot but just like pilots, physician are accountable to the college. If you have the names of the physicians and think their diagnosis is incorrect and can back it up, try a complaint through the college?

For example I’m in Ontario. Here’s a link to the CPSO
https://www.cpso.on.ca/en/public/servic ... d-concerns

[Thorjones]

For those of you who submitted an ATIP (information request) from TC about your files and communication, how soon was the turn around time?

When did you submit and how soon after did you receive the information?

Thanks

[48ragwing]

Put me on the list. I'm currently required to get a CT scan on my entire torso EVERY year to get my medical renewed. My CAME believes it's overkill and ridiculous, my GP thinks the radiation is a risk to my health, and last year I had to pay $1000 for my CT as it was inside 12 months and OHIP wouldn't cover it...and TC is so completely untouchable that I'm afraid to voice my concerns or face reprimand that will effectively ruin my career. This experience makes me hate Canada on many levels because I'm a victim of the bureaucracy which runs this place and it's inescapable.

[W5]

That's a ridiculous requirement. Probably thought up by some unnamed bureaucrat in TC. Probably not even a MD.