Training of Ukrainian pilots moves from London, Ont., to North Bay in July

ITPS Canada has a contract with the Government of Canada to train 80 Ukrainian pilots as part of its support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. (File)

Beginning in July, as many as 80 pilots from Ukraine will be trained at the Jack Garland Airport in North Bay by the International Test Pilots School.

Court documents related to a dispute between ITPS and Transport Canada show that the decision to move to North Bay was driven by the need to find a training area where airspace could be restricted and separate from commercial flights.

Transport Canada ordered ITPS to stop air combat training it was conducting out of London following a near-miss incident in November 2025, the court documents show.

ITPS Canada has a contract with the Government of Canada to train the pilots as part of its support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

ITPS announced earlier this year plans to switch fighter jet air combat training to North Bay from London, which uses the airport code of YXU.

According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Canada, the switch has been planned for some time because of concerns about conducting air combat training in airspace shared with commercial flights in London.

“In 2022, Transport Canada raised concerns about ITPS using airspace near YXU for military training,” the Federal Court decision said.

“The parties discussed ITPS using airspace in a more remote location like North Bay.”

That’s because Jack Garland (YYB) has enough space to allow commercial and combat training to take place in separate airspaces. An agreement was reached in the first half of 2025 to relocate to North Bay.

“It purchased an aircraft hangar at YYB and contracted with a construction company to update the hangar to meet DND safety standards, an $8 million investment,” the federal court said.

“Once the construction work is complete, ITPS will move its operations to YYB (including moving its equipment and personnel). ITPS informed Transport Canada that it expected to be operating out of YYB by July 13.”

Transport Canada informed ITPS that it had concerns about the congested airspace in London being used for air combat training, but allowed training to continue until the move to North Bay.

However, there was a near-miss incident on Nov. 18, 2025, at the London airport.

“There was an incident involving an ITPS ex-military aircraft on its approach to land at YXU. An investigation is underway but is not complete,” the court said.

“According to the minister, the ITPS aircraft missed numerous calls from the air traffic control tower, and a midair collision was only avoided because the other pilot changed course.”

Instructor pilot took control from student

However, ITPS said there was never a risk of a midair collision.

“While the ITPS aircraft missed calls from the tower (the tower used the wrong call sign, and messages were missed when the ITPS instructor pilot and the tower were attempting to communicate with each other at the same time), the instructor pilot took control from the student pilot, received the tower’s message of non-conflicting traffic about one nautical mile away, and followed the tower’s directions to climb and remain outside the approach area until cleared for landing,” the court said.

“ITPS says the instructor pilot always had the other aircraft in sight and maintained good separation, never coming closer than one nautical mile.”

But in light of that incident, and two other “near collisions in the past few years,” Transport Canada ordered ITPS in December 2025 to stop air combat training until the move to North Bay in July 2026.

The company appealed that decision, arguing that there was never any real danger and that making the order would “severely impact ITPS’s ability to meet its timelines for training Ukrainian pilots.”

The decision was overturned by the Federal Court in April, which ruled that ITPS would face “irreparable” harm if it were not allowed to continue combat training for pilots in London until the move to North Bay.

The court also ruled that Transport Canada has allowed the company to train out of London since 2019, undermining “any claim of urgency.”

“Transport Canada was fully aware of ITPS’s SACT (specialized air combat training) activities in London, spent years idly deliberating over its regulatory approach without taking any steps to restrict ITPS’s operations,” the court said.

Decision was overturned

“The safety issues the minister relies on to justify the notice ring hollow in light of Transport Canada’s prolonged inaction.”

But that decision was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeals in a decision dated June 11.

The appeals court ruled the fact that the November 2025 near-miss incident may not have been prevented even if air combat training was prohibited misses the point.

“By focusing narrowly on whether this particular incident would have been averted, rather than on the systemic risk addressed by the notice, the Federal Court misunderstood the public interest in maintaining the regulatory scheme pending judicial review, thereby erring in its weighing of the public interest,” the appeals court said.

The fact that ITPS already planned to begin operating out of North Bay on July 13 “serves to mitigate the harm that is likely to be suffered on either side of the balance,” the court said.

Messages from CTV News seeking comment on the ruling to both ITPS Canada and Transport Canada were not returned by deadline.