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The story
A post appeared in the c/canada community on Canada’s Lemmy proposing that “Canada should tariff every US aircraft that passes through Canadian airspace.” In response, commenters pointed out one after another that Canada has already been running a system called the “overflight fee” since 1995, that the rate for large commercial aircraft is higher than the US equivalent, and that it carries no exemption for planes landing or taking off domestically. The discussion then broadened into the differences between the two countries’ political systems — namely, whether Canada’s prime minister wields anything like the strong unilateral power of a US presidential executive order.
What people said
You say Canada "can't do that," but Canada's already been doing it since 1995. It's called an "overflight fee," and the rate for large commercial aircraft is way higher than in the US. On top of that, unlike the US or Mexico, there's no exemption for planes landing or taking off within Canada.
Source: https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/30378-explainer-why-are-canadas-overflight-fees-so-high
Like others are saying, Canada's already doing this. Most countries do. Overflight fees are just a normal thing.
Wait, have you never heard of executive orders? If Carney really wanted to, he could probably pull off something similar.
I used to work for a company that made flight-planning software for airlines. You're right, that's accurate. There's an overflight fee that varies depending on whether it's a domestic or international flight.
Nothing's changed. I'm not calling off my boycott, and nobody else should either.
I don't think that's right. Unlike the US president, Canada's prime minister can't do much of anything without parliamentary support, and strictly speaking isn't even the head of government. Carney has more authority than your average backbench MP, but not by a huge margin.
If we did that, Canadian airlines would end up needing a separate treaty with every single country whose airspace they fly over…
Background and Key Points of the Debate
In Canada, the “overflight fee” has been administered by NAV CANADA, the non-profit air navigation organization, ever since its 1995 privatization. A defining feature is that, unlike the US or Mexico, it grants no exemption for aircraft that land or take off within Canada. The thread split over whether to read the original poster’s proposal as a fresh idea put forward without knowing the existing system already exists, or as an emotionally charged proposal rooted in trade friction with the US. The discussion also touched on a quirk of Canada’s parliamentary system: unlike the US president, the Canadian prime minister can’t unilaterally set policy and needs parliamentary backing. For Japanese readers, the very idea of a system that charges international flights just for passing through another country’s airspace may be unfamiliar and come as a bit of a surprise.
※This article is a condensed, loosely translated adaptation by our editorial team of the Lemmy c/canada thread “Canada should tariff all the flights from the USA that cross into Canadian Air space” from the overseas forum Lemmy. Responsibility for the translation lies with this site.
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