Industry Canada Introduces Alternatives to Morse Requirement for HF
Per Canada Gazette notice DGRB-003-05 22 July 2005, Industry Canada has adopted elements of the RAC "Proposal on Morse Code and Related Matters" and has removed the mandatory requirement for the Morse Qualification for access to the HF bands below 30 MHz.
Effective immediately, amateurs certified with BASIC Qualification prior to 2 April 2002, and amateurs certified with both BASIC and ADVANCED Qualifications, may operate on HF. Amateurs with BASIC only Qualification certified after 1 April 2002, and who achieved a pass mark of 80% or greater, will also be allowed to operate on HF. Amateurs certified BASIC only Qualification after 1 April 2002 having achieved less than 80% pass mark, will either have to qualify in Morse, write the Advanced or re-write the Basic examination to obtain HF privileges. This latter requirement is related to a decision to increase the BASIC examination pass mark to ensure that candidates have been tested in all areas of the syllabus.