I posted the update to our situation at Air Canada for the purpose of letting everyone know that the legal process slowly is coming to a close, in favour of change.
The subject of age limitations has two components in our context. The first one, competency, is not in issue, due to the fact that the government authorities regulate the subject through their requirements for periodical and continuous demonstration of professional and medical competence. The Government of Canada is on record with ICAO as opposing the age 65 limitation because it offends our Charter of Rights and Freedoms prohibition on discrimination on the basis of age. Canada abandoned the maximum limit on age for airline pilot licensing shortly after the Charter provisions came into effect in 1985.
The legal (and relevant) issue flows from the second component, the ability of an employer and a union to “contract out” of the Canadian Human Rights Act provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age, vis-à-vis mandatory retirement. The Tribunal last August ruled that provision of the collective agreement of no force and effect, and now is in the process of issuing an Order of reinstatement to the two individuals who brought the action to the Tribunal.
At the moment, there are almost 150 similar complaints in the queue before the Tribunal. In addition, in this proceeding, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (the administrative body responsible for looking after the public interest) that is a party to the proceeding before the Tribunal, is seeking a cease and desist Order against Air Canada to prohibit it from continuing to involuntarily terminate the employment of pilots on the basis of age.
So as much as we could continue debating the age “competency” issues in this thread, the key change here is the evolving legal aspect of age 60 in international aviation.