Aeronautics Act — A-2 22
Definition of on-board recording 22 (1) In this section and in section 23, on-board recording means the whole or any part of either a recording of voice communications originating from an aircraft, or received on or in the flight deck of an aircraft, or a video recording of the activities of the operating personnel of an aircraft, that is made, using recording equipment that is intended not to be controlled by the operating personnel, on the flight deck of the aircraft, and includes a transcript or substantial summary of such a recording. Privilege for on-board recordings (2) Every on-board recording in respect of an aircraft is privileged whether or not that aircraft has been involved in a military-civilian occurrence and, except as provided by this section and section 23, no person, including any person to whom access is provided under those sections, shall knowingly communicate an on-board recording or permit one to be communicated to any person. Legal proceedings (3) Except as provided by this section and section 23, no person is to be required to produce an on-board recording or to give evidence relating to one in any legal, disciplinary or other proceedings. Use authorized by Authority (4) The Authority may, subject to any restrictions or conditions that he or she specifies, authorize any person or class of persons to make use of any on-board recording in the interests of aviation safety. Access by investigator (5) Any on-board recording that relates to a military-civilian occurrence being investigated under this Part shall be released to an investigator who requests it for the purposes of the investigation. Use by Authority (6) The Authority may make any use that he or she considers necessary in the interests of aviation safety of any on-board recording obtained by an investigator under this Part but, subject to subsections (7) and 23(1), (4) and (6), shall not knowingly communicate or permit to be communicated to anyone any portion of it that is unrelated to the causes or contributing factors of the military-civilian occurrence under investigation or to the identification of safety deficiencies. Access by coroners and other investigators (7) The Authority shall make available any on-board recording obtained in the course of an investigation of a military-civilian occurrence (a) to a coroner who requests access to it for the purpose of an investigation that the coroner is conducting; or (b) to any person carrying out a coordinated investigation under section 18 of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act . Power of court or coroner (8) Despite anything in this section, if, in any proceedings before a court or coroner, a request for the production and discovery of an on-board recording is made, the court or coroner shall (a) cause notice of the request to be given to the Authority, if the Authority is not a party to the proceedings; (b) examine the on-board recording in camera and give the Authority a reasonable opportunity to make representations with respect to it; and (c) if the court or coroner concludes in the circumstances of the case that the public interest in the proper administration of justice outweighs in importance the privilege attached to the on-board recording by virtue of this section, order the production and discovery of the on-board recording, subject to any restrictions or conditions that the court or coroner considers appropriate, and may require any person to give evidence that relates to it. Restriction (9) An on-board recording is not to be used against any of the following persons in disciplinary proceedings, in proceedings relating to their capacity or competence to perform their functions, or in legal or other proceedings: air traffic controllers, aircraft crew members, airport vehicle operators, flight service station specialists and persons who relay messages respecting air traffic control or related matters. Definition of court (10) For the purposes of subsect