Compliance with ADS-B Out equipment and operating requirements will become mandatory in the country’s Class A and B airspace above 12,500 feet beginning Feb. 23, 2023. Nav Canada, the air traffic control service provider for Canada, has been providing ADS-B services in Canadian airspace on a voluntary basis since 2008.
In 2019, Nav Canada suspended its plan to mandate use of ADS-B starting in 2021 in response to feedback from stakeholders and the industry. The postponement has given Nav Canada more time to develop regulations with Transport Canada, as well as provide additional time for the equipment certification process associated with antenna diversity requirements.
To demonstrate compliance with the mandate, aircraft must be equipped with an appropriate transponder with ADS-B Out capabilities, meet the applicable minimum operational performance standards, and have antenna capability for broadcast toward space-based ADS-B receivers emitting 1090-MHz extended squitter. This latter requirement can be met either through antenna diversity—the use of a top and bottom antenna—or with a single antenna that can transmit both toward the ground and up to satellites.
Operators are expected to file the following ADS-B equipage in Item 10 of ICAO flight plans: ADS-B with dedicated 1090-MHz ADS-B “out” capability or ADS-B with dedicated 1090-MHz ADS-B “out” and “in” capability.