The Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Territory of Quebec (CPTAQ) recently sided in favor of the Neuville Airport and the Neuville Aero Club (COPA Chapter #198) on May 10, 2018, marking the end of a three-year battle that challenged the supremacy of the federal government to regulate aeronautics.

The CPTAQ had two issues at the core of the Agricultural Activities Protection Law. One was that even though the developers own the land, they could not do long-term leases even if to build hangars, since it would parcel up the land were it to be returned for agricultural use. The other one was that social events held at the airport, some as part of the monthly COPA Chapter meetings, were outside the core of aeronautics and were therefore not under Federal jurisdiction.

“This victory is the latest in a long line of successes for COPA in defending aerodromes,” said COPA President and CEO Bernard Gervais. “The foundation for these wins were COPA’s two landmark Supreme Court of Canada decisions that affirmed the federal government’s sole purview to regulate aeronautics. We are pleased to see the results of those battles being applied in cases such as Neuville.”

COPA’s support for the Aero Club’s battle came from contributions through the Freedom to Fly Fund, a member-funded envelope dedicated to the defence and preservation of Canada’s aerodromes.