January 23, 2007
Your file: Z 5015-11760 U
RDMIS# 3845196
Mrs. Kirsten Stevens
492 S. McPhedran Road
Campbell River, BC
V9W 5K5
Dear Mrs. Stevens,
I am responding to your e-mail correspondence dated December 5,2007. The department has no further information to provide you beyond what has previously been communicated to you. However, to reiterate:
With regards to your Access to Information request, every effort is made to ensure requested documents are provided should they be in the custody of Transport Canada. The training records of the flight follower are not in our possession, nor are they required to be by regulation or policy.
As stated in previous correspondence, an investigation was initiated with respect to the Canada Labour Code and the Civil Aviation Occupational Health and Safety Program.
It is recognized that your husband and the other passengers onboard the aircraft were deemed "persons granted access" to a federally designated workplace, but unfortunately there were no witnesses to this accident, and no determined cause of death of the pilot due to the body never being recovered. (
) As a result of very limited information, the investigation was closed. Since the closing of the investigation, there has been no additional factual information brought forward that would have influenced the decision to close the investigation.
Your recommendation that float plane pilots be required to undertake egress training, will be forwarded to the Secretariat, Civil Aviation Regulatory Advisory Council, on your behalf.
As noted in previous correspondence, a Minister's Observer was and continues to be assigned to this accident. In addition, we also reiterate the company was operating in compliance with CAR 723.16(1)(d).
I would like to take this opportunity to again express our condolences on your loss as a result of this accident and also thank you for sharing your views.
Yours truly,
David J. Nowzek
Regional Director, Civil Aviation
As I'm sure you can imagine, I find it extremely frustrating that having a clear cause of death for MY HUSBAND, has no affect on the decision to investigate for infringements of the labour code.
So, if we go down, we go down with guns blazing ...
We are in what we hope will be the final leg before finally getting some (proof positive) answers. In order to help ensure this becomes a reality, we ask for your help in finalizing the petition. If you have not already done so, please sign and pass on to anyone else you think may be interested in our cause. If you have been collecting signatures on a paper petition, please contact me at
[email protected], or via facebook, as soon as possible, to arrange for their return.
Thanks all and, as always, stay safe.
http://www.petitiononline.com/cgaqw/petition.html