A slim brown envelope arrived for me the other day. With it’s distinctive shape and Canadian government markings, I knew it had to be about my standard Transport Canada private pilot’s licence. Sure enough it was. Turns out that Transport Canada is going to reissue every pilots licence in a new ‘booklet format’, which will amongst other things include, wait for it, a photograph of the pilot!
It seems amazing to me that the JAA / CAA licence is nothing more than a pile of A5 laser printed pages folded in half to make an A6 booklet, many pages of it I might add, and of course without any photograph, so it is stated as only being valid with separate government issued photo id. The FAA licence is much better, but still not perfect. The FAA licence is a plastic credit card type licence, but still lacking the obvious, a photograph! Now it seems that Transport Canada is going to do the sensible thing of including a photograph, but doing it in a very old fashioned ‘passport’ type booklet arrangement. One day, someone is going to put it all together and join the 21st Century and put it all on a plastic credit card with a photo and a chip containing all the information needed – but clearly not just yet!
So, I read the form letter. I have been selected….. (oh goody) ……..yabedi yah……..fill in a simple form available for download from a web address……..(fine)………it will be free of charge (first bit of good news)……oh and it must contain a Canadian style passport photograph and be witnessed by the same category of people listed for a passport application – there’s the kicker!!! Of course that last bit is at my expense. Why won’t they accept a photograph without authentication and simply compare it to your existing passport photograph that the government already has (I have a Canadian passport), well that would be far to simple!
OK, this is going to be a pain and if I don’t do this, the licence gets cancelled in June. So, off to a professional photographer for a Canadian passport photograph (no of course it isn’t the same as a British one!), then get the photographer to stamp, sign and date the back of it. Then take that with the application form to someone on the ‘passport approved’ list of people that can vouch that it is a true likeness of me. You know, people like Doctor, Dentist, Judge, MP, Queen, George Clooney….. Actually, you can also get it signed by Flying Instructors……but of course only those accredited by Transport Canada. If I lived in Canada this would be a breeze, but as I live in the UK, a lot of hurdles.
Only one on that list that has known me for the required two years is the medical examiner that does my pilot exams. So now I need to make a special trip to see him with the application form, approved photo and he has to sign both with a prescribed form of words. Of course I must also pay him. Oh yes, then I send the whole lot to Canada and wait eight weeks. None of this is the end of the world and I do value my Canadian licence enough to go through these hoops, but after this, can you please leave me alone for five minutes? I am sick and fed up with government bureaucracy in all it’s forms, whatever the government!
Here’s a really crazy idea – why don’t flying licences work the same way as driving licences, where most countries recognise other countries licences and simply hand over the keys without further verification. Better still, how about one licence for all countries - me? No hesitation, use the FAA lock, stock and barrel! Yes, I know I'm dreaming!
Just having a rant really. I’ll wander off now and sink a beer or six in front of the TV and fantasise about my trips to Italy and Newfoundland in August!
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The adventures of a bog standard Private Pilot
