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Transport Canada isn't taking new UN aviation standards seriously enough and is missing a chance to improve its rules on fatigue in the cockpit, says the country's largest pilot union.

"Clearly it's past time for us to have a look at our regulations and examine how they measure up against what we know today," said Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association.

He was reacting to Transport Canada's assurances that its regulations on flight and duty times are compatible with the standards of the United Nations civil aviation agency.

The International Civil Aviation Organization's new norms became effective this week.

In a statement to The Globe and Mail, Transport Canada said its regulations on flight and duty times are already "consistent with the intent" of the new ICAO standards.

"It's akin to saying that a sundial is consistent with the intent of telling time," Mr. Strachan said.

The new standards are more specific in defining flight time, fatigue and rest periods. In addition, ICAO says that regulations on fatigue should be based on scientific principles "where available."

ICAO also has non-binding recommendations that say factors such as accumulated fatigue or circadian rhythms should also be considered.

Pilots note that Canadian regulations are of the one-size-fits-all approach, with no consideration for aggravating factors such as irregular shift work, multiple time zones or night-time work.

Daniel Slunder, national chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association, which represents Transport Canada aviation inspectors and accident investigators, had worked at the department until this summer.

He said the aviation branch was too short-staffed to deal with the ICAO changes, which had been in the works since the early 2000s. "I can't fault the individual in charge of that section for not doing that work. He had nobody under him. He was a section of one."

The debate about pilot fatigue comes on the heels of an Auditor-General report criticizing Transport Canada's move to a new oversight system. For a decade, Transport Canada has been busy transitioning to a sweeping new regulatory approach called Safety Management Systems.

The theory behind SMS has been embraced in many industries. However, its application in Canadian aviation has been contested. In a report last year, the Auditor-General said Transport Canada failed to assess properly the impact of the SMS change on oversight.

As it stands, passengers benefit from the fact that pilots for major carriers have collectively negotiated for more conservative work hours than the Canadian standards allow.

"Safety shouldn't be negotiated. It's up to the regulator to set the framework," Mr. Strachan said.