Pilots Sought to Complete Survey on New Canadian Border Crossing Requirement

February 5, 2015 - An additional procedure is being developed by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) for pilots crossing the international border with the United States. The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) and AOPA have developed a survey to provide statistical feedback to Canadian and U.S. officials to find a solution that both addresses their goals and minimizes duplication. COPA is heavily involved in finding creative solutions to minimize the detrimental consequences that any additional requirements will have on our sector of aviation.

No changes have been made to the existing requirements yet. Any change to the requirements for crossing the border in a GA aircraft will, at the earliest, occur sometime in 2016.

The fundamental issue for COPA is eliminating duplication. Since all pilots must complete the U.S. eAPIS reports for entering and exiting the United States, it seems it would be a relatively simple extension for the U.S. to send information to Canada for its security purposes.

CBSA officials continue to collaborate with our sector, while at the same time respecting the Canadian government’s privacy rules and policies, which makes the work more challenging. A Washington meeting succeeded in convincing the CBSA that its U.S. counterpart is willing to cooperate. COPA will continue to participate in the ongoing working group meetings as well as with their counterparts in the U.S. in an effort to develop a program that both meets the government’s needs and minimizes the impact on our sector of aviation.

Complete the COPA/AOPA survey on CBSA’s Canadian Cross Border NEW requirement.