Former Snowbird pilot's career 'destroyed' by cancelled passport over work in China

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly past the Toronto skyline as part of Operation Inspiration, their cross-country salute to Canadians helping fight the spread of COVID-19, on Sunday, May 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

A former captain with Canada’s Snowbirds claims his passport was wrongfully cancelled after working for a pilot training company that the U.S. government says is a “significant enabler” of the Chinese military.

Jayson Miles-Ingram says in a notice of appeal filed in the Federal Court that he “proudly and honourably” served as a pilot with the Canadian Armed Forces for nearly 21 years.

Miles-Ingram says he worked in Dubai as a flight instructor for more than a decade after retiring from the Forces, and moved to China in 2022 to work as an instructor for the parent company of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

The appeal notice says the flight company offers pilot training and other services, but he began looking for work elsewhere in 2024.

The notice says he tried travelling from Beijing to New Zealand in December 2024, but was denied boarding after New Zealand immigration officers claimed that his passport was “reported as lost or stolen with Interpol.”

The appeal says his passport was actually cancelled, and the Canadian government refused to reinstate due to his “knowledge of sensitive Canadian, U.S., and NATO information,” and his passport was cancelled “to protect national security, as returning it could enable activities harmful to Canada and its allies.”

He claims a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada sent to his former home in Dubai that month stated his passport was cancelled by the public safety minister.

Miles-Ingram’s appeal says he sought reconsideration of the cancellation, which was refused on Jan. 16, 2026.

“The cancellation of the appellant’s Canadian passport has effectively destroyed the appellant’s career and ability to earn a livelihood as a pilot,” the appeal says.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release on Jan. 15. 2026 that it had filed a forfeiture complaint over flight simulators being shipped to China by the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

“TFASA masquerades as a civilian flight-training academy when in fact it is a significant enabler of the Chinese air and naval forces and a pipeline for transferring NATO aviation expertise, operational knowledge, and restricted technology directly to the People’s Liberation Army,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the seizure demonstrated “the ongoing threat that China and its enablers pose to the national security of the United States through the unlawful procurement of U.S. military technology.”

The company said in a statement posted on its website that it “strenuously rejects the allegations and implications made in that release as factually incorrect and misleading.”

“In particular, the company rejects any suggestion that NATO expertise was transferred, or that any U.S. military technology, defence technical data, or other restricted information was exported in breach of applicable laws,” the statement said.

The company and Miles-Ingram’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He claims in the appeal that there’s no evidence that he has committed a criminal or terrorism offence to justify the cancellation, or that he poses a national security risk to Canada.

“There is no law in Canada that prevents any Canadian citizen from working for (Test Flying Academy of South Africa) or its subsidiaries,” the appeal says. “Similarly, there is no Canadian law which limits or restricts the employment of retired CAF members domestically or internationally or which prevents them from using their transferable skills for future employment.”

Miles-Ingram says he never trained anyone about sensitive Canadian, U.S. and NATO information, and refusing to reinstate his passport unreasonably and unfairly “failed to consider the severe economic and personal consequences of passport cancellation on the appellant’s ability to work and support himself and his family.”

He also alleges the refusal to give his passport back breaches his Charter rights.

The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Miles-Ingram’s case.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press