What you will know
Know who may demand to see an aviation document, which people the demand binds, what counts as an "other document", what may never be done with a Canadian aviation document, and when a suspended or cancelled document must go back.
Before this lesson
- You hold, or fly under, a Canadian aviation document, because the production duty is written around holding one and around keeping records for an aircraft. CAR 103.02
- You know that the people who can demand a document are not only Transport Canada inspectors: a peace officer and an immigration officer can demand one too. CAR 103.02
- You know the difference between the aircraft and the documents and records kept about it, because section 103.02 treats them in separate subsections. CAR 103.02
How it works
1. The aircraft can be inspected on reasonable notice
Subsection 103.02(1) puts the duty on the owner or operator: on reasonable notice given by the Minister, that person must make the aircraft available for inspection in accordance with the notice. CAR 103.02
Two limits are in the sentence and both are easy to lose. The duty is owed by the owner or operator, not by every pilot who happens to be at the controls; and the notice must be reasonable — an unannounced demand is not what this subsection describes. CAR 103.02
2. Who may demand a document, and who must produce it
Subsection 103.02(2) names the people who can make the demand: a peace officer, an immigration officer, or the Minister. It then names three categories of person who must produce the Canadian aviation document, technical record or other document. CAR 103.02
The three categories are:
| Category | Who it catches |
|---|---|
| (a) the holder | A person who is the holder of a Canadian aviation document CAR 103.02 |
| (b) the aircraft's people | The owner, operator or pilot-in-command of an aircraft in respect of which such a document is kept CAR 103.02 |
| (c) the carrier | A person who has in possession such a document relating to an aircraft or a commercial air service CAR 103.02 |
Category (c) is the one a reader skips. A person who is not the owner, not the operator and not the pilot-in-command — someone carrying another operator's technical record in a bag — is inside the subsection, because possession is enough. CAR 103.02
3. What counts as an "other document"
Subsection 103.02(4) defines the term, and it defines it wide: "other document" includes all writings, papers and other records made, held or maintained by the owner, operator or pilot-in-command for the purpose of recording any action, activity, performance or use of the aircraft, or any activity of the owner, operator or crew members in respect of that aircraft. CAR 103.02
The definition then closes the obvious escape: it applies whether or not those documents are required by law to be made, held or maintained. A pilot's own notebook of flights, kept for no regulation's sake, is still an "other document" if it records the use of the aircraft. CAR 103.02
4. Two things that may never be done with a document
Subsection 103.02(3) opens with the words "No person shall", then sets out two prohibitions: to lend a Canadian aviation document to a person not entitled to it by the Regulations, or allow such a person to use it; and to mutilate, alter or render illegible a Canadian aviation document. CAR 103.02
Both paragraphs are addressed to no person. Neither says "the holder", so reading paragraph (b) as binding only the holder of the document adds a limitation the text does not state. CAR 103.02
5. Giving a suspended or cancelled document back
Section 103.03 is one sentence. Where a Canadian aviation document has been suspended or cancelled, the person to whom it was issued must return it to the Minister immediately after the effective date of the suspension or cancellation. CAR 103.03
Three details decide the questions asked about it. The duty is on the person to whom it was issued, not on whoever is holding the document; the trigger is either event, because the sentence says "suspended or cancelled"; and the return falls due immediately after the effective date, so it is not postponed until the suspension or cancellation has ended and it is not triggered by the day the person learns of it. CAR 103.03
Losing possession does not release the person either: the sentence makes neither possession nor the loss of it a condition of the duty. CAR 103.03
6. The neighbouring rule on records kept electronically
Beside these sections sits the rule for records systems, which is about how a record may be kept rather than who may demand it: a record system that is not paper may stand in for the records the Regulations require, if measures are taken to protect the records against accidental loss or destruction and against tampering, and if the records can be printed on paper and provided to the Minister on reasonable notice. CAR 103.04
Your checklist
| Question | The answer |
|---|---|
| On what terms can the aircraft itself be inspected? | The owner or operator must make it available on reasonable notice given by the Minister CAR 103.02 |
| Who may demand a document? | A peace officer, an immigration officer or the Minister CAR 103.02 |
| Must I produce a document I merely happen to be carrying? | Yes, if it relates to an aircraft or a commercial air service — possession is one of the three categories CAR 103.02 |
| Is a record the law never required me to keep an "other document"? | Yes — the definition applies whether or not the law requires it CAR 103.02 |
| May I lend my certificate to someone who is not entitled to it? | No, and neither may I let them use it CAR 103.02 |
| Must the document be legible and unaltered? | Yes — mutilating, altering or rendering it illegible is prohibited CAR 103.02 |
| Who returns a suspended document, and when? | The person to whom it was issued, immediately after the effective date CAR 103.03 |
- The inspection duty is on the owner or operator and needs reasonable notice CAR 103.02
- A peace officer and an immigration officer can demand documents, not only the Minister CAR 103.02
- A person who merely has possession must produce CAR 103.02
- The prohibition on altering a document binds no person, not the holder alone CAR 103.02
- A suspended or cancelled document goes back to the Minister, by the person it was issued to CAR 103.03
Where people go wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| An inspection is treated as valid without notice | 103.02(1) ties the duty to reasonable notice | Ask what notice was given and what it required CAR 103.02 |
| The duty is placed on the pilot alone | 103.02(1) names the owner or operator | Put the duty where the subsection puts it CAR 103.02 |
| A demand is thought to come only from Transport Canada | 103.02(2) names peace officers and immigration officers too | Treat all three as able to demand CAR 103.02 |
| Only the pilot's own records are thought to be out of reach | 103.02(4) covers records kept by the owner, operator or pilot-in-command | Include every record of the aircraft's use CAR 103.02 |
| Lending a certificate is assumed to be a private matter | 103.02(3)(a) prohibits it | Refuse to lend it or let it be used CAR 103.02 |
| The return is delayed until the suspension is over | 103.03 fixes the time at the effective date | Return it immediately after that date CAR 103.03 |
| A document is kept because someone else has it | 103.03 binds the person it was issued to | Return it; possession is not the trigger CAR 103.03 |
Test yourself
Sources
- CAR 103.02 — Inspection of Aircraft, Requests for Production of Documents and Prohibitions
- CAR 103.03 — Return of Canadian Aviation Documents
- CAR 103.04 — Records