'National embarrassment': Aviation event scheduled for this weekend unexpectedly grounded
An annual event that hopes to inspire young girls to take an interest in aviation has been postponed indefinitely.
The Sky’s No Limit - Girls Can Fly Too was scheduled to take place on the first weekend of October, but it was abruptly cancelled at the 11th hour.
Kristen Brazier, a pilot and founder of the event, said the last few weeks have been a nightmare of uncertainty.
She was waiting on official word from Transport Canada on whether the event could take place, and she made the decision to cancel the event since she didn’t know if the event was going to get approved.
“We couldn't take the risk. So I had to do the difficult decision and that was to postpone the event,” Brazier told CTV News.
“It's been really frustrating. We've been doing this event for 10 years; we've been doing the same event for the last six years.”
Yet this year, the regulator had not issued the certificate that would’ve given Brazier the green light.
“This is a national embarrassment. This event is important to Canada and the United States to address the shortage of women in high-tech STEM fields. And Transport Canada has provided no explanation why they have acted in this manner and I think it's appalling,” she said.
She enlisted the help of her local MP for Cloverdale-Langley City, John Aldadg, who said he supports the event.
“I have spoken with the transport minister’s office and I think there was some disappointment on their side as well because, you know, they weren't trying to cancel the event, but they also felt that, you know, there were still some items that weren't satisfied,” Aldag told CTV News.
In an email to CTV News, the regulator said they received an “incomplete” application and there were outstanding safety concerns.
“Key areas of concern included insufficient event management and emergency response plans for an event of this size, a lack of information regarding the qualifications of pilots and aircraft that will be deployed during the event, and lack of details on human resources (security personnel, volunteers) required to provide crowd control at the event,” it wrote.
Brazier said Transport Canada has not been clear as to what needed to be fixed in the application.
“(We’re) baffled as to why Transport Canada would withhold certification and not even explain what the problem was or give us an opportunity to fix it,” she said.
Aldag said as a third-party who wasn’t involved in filling out and reviewing the application, it appeared there was clear miscommunication between the two parties.
“We have a bit of a communication breakdown here, where everybody thought they were being clear on what they were asking the other person and here we are without an event. I really want us to have a good look at this file and see how we can make sure that when the next application goes in that we’re not down to the wire and that everybody gets what they need,” he said.
Brazier still hopes to hold the event, but has not decided on a new date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.