Ottawa in 'serious breach' in allowing used choppers to patrol border, industry says
OTTAWA — Canada’s helicopter industry is charging the federal government with a “serious breach” in allowing the RCMP to patrol the Canada-U.S. border with antiquated military helicopters that don’t meet the government’s own safety regulations, National Post has learned.
The second-hand helicopters, purchased on the open market by private Canadian operators who were then hired by the RCMP, were granted highly unusual special exemptions by Transport Canada. But documents show that the industry is accusing the federal government of breaking its own rules by allowing used choppers that don’t meet Canadian safety standards and aren’t supposed to carry passengers or even fly over developed areas.
“It’s not even something that should be considered,” said Trevor Mitchell, chief executive of the Helicopter Association of Canada (HAC), about the government’s decision to provide the special exemptions. “Why do some have to follow the rules and some don’t?”
For at least the last three years, the RCMP has been relying on a small number of private contractors to help patrol the border in search of illegal migrants, drug smugglers and other illicit activities. Those contractors, including two based in Ontario, have been using up to four Black Hawk helicopters that were purchased on the second-hand market after the U.S. military decided to update much of its own fleet.
According to the government’s Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, the second-hand Sikorsky Black Hawk UH 60As are each at least 40 years old and were imported between 2022 and last year.
The special exemptions from Transport Canada, the industry says in a series of letters to senior government officials, allowed them to do non-military jobs in Canadian air space.
HAC also says that the twin-engine Black Hawks didn’t come with “type certificates,” which act like recipe books for new owners in that they provide details about the aircraft’s parts and how it should be maintained.
But in a March 20 letter to Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mitchell said even the conditions attached to the exemptions — such as not being allowed to carry passengers or fly over developed areas — have not been followed. “We urge you to direct your department to ensure the safety restrictions attached to these aircraft are strictly enforced for the balance of the RCMP’s contract and that the Force be urged to select a certified aircraft before the contract expires.”
The contracts, worth an estimated $16 million so far, expire June 30, documents show.
The Canadian helicopter industry, which relies heavily on conforming to streams of rules and regulations as its safety pillars, is angry and confused over Transport’s decision, Mitchell said. “It’s the hottest topic in the industry.”
HAC has been trying to find out why these helicopters got the green light but the association said that it hasn’t been given a full explanation from Transport Canada, which granted the exemptions, or the RCMP, who hired the contractors, even though the federal police force has its own helicopters.
None of the government players involved in the Black Hawk contracts agreed to an interview to address the industry’s concerns, despite repeated requests.
A RCMP communications officer wouldn’t say over a period of almost a week when the federal police would be available to comment.
Two Transport Canada executives involved in the granting of the special exemptions referred National Post to communications staff.
A communications official then said that the transport department is “unable to accommodate your request and facilitate a direct conversation.”
But in an email, the official confirmed that four Black Hawks have been registered in Canada, placed on the Civil Aircraft Register and issued “special certificates of airworthiness.”
The aircraft, the email said, are being operated by legally-approved air operators.
Freeland also could not be reached for comment.
Denis Pilon, chief operating officer of Helicopter Transport Services, a Carp, Ont. company that bought two of the four Black Hawks and then leased the helicopters and crew to the RCMP, did not respond to voice mail messages. The government’s civil aircraft registry says a third chopper was imported by Expedition Helicopters Inc. of Cochrane, Ont. The industry association says the fourth was contracted by the Alberta government.
Despite its reluctance to discuss the matter, the federal government is well aware of the situation involving the Black Hawks and the industry’s concerns.
In the spring of 2024, following interactions with HAC, former Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez directed his officials to pause the issuing of special exemptions for the Black Hawks. But in September of that year, Rodriguez resigned from the federal cabinet to run for leader of the Quebec Liberal party.
He was replaced at transport for about seven months by Anita Anand, now the foreign affairs minister. She was then replaced in the new year by Chrystia Freeland, after Mark Carney became prime minister. Neither Anand nor Freeland has clarified the government’s view of the situation or publicly commented on the special exemptions for the Black Hawks.
Although the Black Hawk contracts pre-date the re-election earlier this year of U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada’s enhanced border patrol is in sync with the White House’s escalation of concern about illegal migrants and illegal drugs entering the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and elsewhere.
But it’s not like there aren’t other — even domestic — options beyond Black Hawks.
Mitchell says Canada has about 200 companies that offer helicopter services and pilots to fly them. Their collective fleets comprise about 1,700 choppers, many of which might be better suited than Black Hawks for patrol duties because they’re smaller and equipped with infra-red cameras that allow them to work in the dark.
Governments in Canada, mostly large municipalities, also own about a dozen helicopters. The military and the RCMP also have their own fleets.
If the RCMP’s own helicopters weren’t enough, Mitchell said, it would have no problem finding private contractors to help them patrol.
John Arquilla, a long-time defence analyst based in Monterey, Calif., said Black Hawks are mostly used to transport soldiers and other personnel but are considered “utility” aircraft because of their flexibility. But Black Hawks aren’t ideal for patrolling borders, he said, because they’re expensive to operate, have limited range and can easily be heard as they approach.
Arquilla said the broader problem with using Black Hawks to patrol a massive area such as the Canada-U.S. border is that they would have little effect, particularly compared to a cheaper, more effective technology such as drones.
“I view the whole idea of patrolling borders with helicopters skeptically.”
Despite being unwilling to agree to an interview, the RCMP seems to acknowledge that critics of the Black Hawk contracts have valid points. In a Feb. 27 letter to HAC, Commissioner Mike Duheme wrote: “I acknowledge your concerns with respect to the Blackhawk helicopters and would like to inform you that the RCMP is working with Transport Canada to review the current restrictions from a law enforcement context.”
In that same letter, Duheme confirmed that the “Black Hawks in question became operational in mid-January and are conducting surveillance patrols along the border.” He also explains that the Black Hawks are being used to complement the RCMP’s existing fleet of nine helicopters, six of which provide border surveillance and support with cameras capable of thermal imaging, while one is capable of any necessary hoisting.
While the RCMP wouldn’t agree in recent days to an interview, the force was keen just a few months ago to publicize its new access to the Black Hawks and the enhanced capabilities that were to come with them.
In an interview conducted with a television network next to one of the Black Hawks, an RCMP official confirmed that the helicopters were leased with a crew and that the choppers were designed to boost capacity. “It’s really about the ability to move people quickly,” Mathieu Bertrand, the RCMP’s Director General of Federal Policing and Border Integrity, told the reporter. “Things happen quickly on the border.”
The issue of certifying the privately-owned Black Hawks has also been a topic of interest at Transport Canada for many months.
According to a June, 2024 internal departmental bulletin obtained by National Post, transport was to stop considering applications for “special certificates of airworthiness” that month. The document warns of increased interest among Canadian operators in using aircraft with the special certificates and that “this may represent a significant change in the risk environment.”
Transport Canada is responsible for the country’s transportation policies and programs. The department, known for its emphasis on safety of Canada’s road, rail, marine and aviation networks, says it promotes safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation.
While the Black Hawk was designed for war more than border patrol, the one advantage it may have over other choppers in this regard, is that it’s large, well-known and American. Those could be important attributes, HAC’s Mitchell says, if Canada’s primary goal in the mission is to ensure that the United States saw its neighbour trying to step up its border patrolling efforts in a very visible way.
In a June 1 letter to the RCMP, Mitchell writes that the Black Hawks “offer no technological advantage to the mission profile, only an appearance.”
Helicopters are valued for their versatility and mobility. In Canada, they’re mostly used in search and rescue, fighting forest fires, helping combat floods, and commercial applications in remote areas such as mining and electrical lines.
But five-seat helicopters are typically used for patrol because they’re more nimble and cheaper to operate than a larger, 14-seater such as Sikorsky’s Black Hawk.
According to a February 10 letter by HAC to RCMP Commissioner Duheme, the choppers have not been approved by Canadian or American authorities for civilian purposes.
The RCMP’s Black Hawk contracts overlap with Carney’s vow to increase Canada’s military spending so that it reaches the NATO target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Carney has also vowed to do more to support Canadian business and to rely less on the U.S.
Industry sources say the older Black Hawks were selling in recent months for about $1 million each, as the market became flooded with supply. The market for used helicopters has grown in recent years as the U.S. military has modernized its fleet, including the purchase of a newer model of Black Hawks, called the UH-60M.
That has punted a number of older, but still functional Black Hawks to the second-hand market.
Prices of new and used aircraft vary widely, depending on a range of factors. But a new five-seat helicopter, including those made in Canada, sells for about $6.5 million, while a new 14-seater, similar in size to the Black Hawks, goes for about $12 million.
But the helicopter association says the special exemptions from the usual rules are not fair to Canadian helicopter makers, nor to those Canadian companies that offer helicopter services using certified choppers.
Bell Textron, a subsidiary of Fort Worth, Tex.-based Textron, makes commercial helicopters at its Mirabel, Que. facilities. Its lineup of models includes the Bell 412, which could be used for border patrol.
Airbus Helicopters Canada, formerly MBB Helicopter Canada, has a 300-employee site at Fort Erie, Ont. That location focuses largely on sales, repair, engineering and composite manufacturing.
The Black Hawk, made by Sikorsky Aircraft, is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift chopper in the “military utility” product niche. Stratford, Conn.-based Sikorsky was founded by the Russian-American aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. The Black Hawk was first conceived in 1972 when its design was submitted for a U.S. Army competition.
Carney, meanwhile, issued a statement earlier this month saying that Canada plans to boost its defence spending by $9.3 billion to $54.3 billion. The money will be used on a range of items, including submarines, ships, armoured vehicles and aircraft, as well as new drones and sensors for monitoring the Arctic and seafloor.
In the government’s latest signal that it intends to create some distance from the U.S. since Trump imposed a wide range of debilitating tariffs on Canadian exports, Carney said Canada wants to reduce how much of its defence budget goes to purchases of American equipment. The prime minister has said that about 75 per cent of Canada’s capital spending on defence heads to the U.S.
In March, Carney ordered a review of the plan to order 88 fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to determine whether those aircraft represent the best investment. While Canada is legally obliged to purchase the first 16 of those jets, Auditor General Karen Hogan said this week in a report that it’s unlikely that the order will be delivered on time or on budget.
National Post
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