Hawker 800 first officer reported an altitude deviation occurred that arose from the difference in '...

Narrative:

From a cruising altitude of FL260; toronto center issued a clearance 'descend to FL240; descend via the NUBER2 arrival.' we immediately started down to FL240; and continued our descent via the arrival procedure. Passing through FL230; the controller asked what altitude we were going to. We explained we were descending via the arrival; to cross rokto between 14;000 and 12;000. The controller explained that the newly adopted 'descend via' phraseology in canada does not allow us to descend below a given altitude. After multiple inquiries; we were finally able to understand that the intention of the clearance is to descend to the given altitude and comply with the arrival restrictions. He said there has been a lot of confusion in the first week of these new clearances; and didn't seem concerned.the 'descend via' clearance is used differently in the united states and canada; so crews should be sure to verify with canadian controllers what is expected of them. Unlike the united states; a descend via clearance in canada does not allow a descent all the way to the lowest altitude; but the specific assigned altitude.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Hawker 800 First Officer reported an altitude deviation occurred that arose from the difference in 'descend via' clearances between Canada and the United States.

Narrative: From a cruising altitude of FL260; Toronto Center issued a clearance 'Descend to FL240; descend via the NUBER2 arrival.' We immediately started down to FL240; and continued our descent via the arrival procedure. Passing through FL230; the Controller asked what altitude we were going to. We explained we were descending via the arrival; to cross ROKTO between 14;000 and 12;000. The Controller explained that the newly adopted 'descend via' phraseology in Canada does not allow us to descend below a given altitude. After multiple inquiries; we were finally able to understand that the intention of the clearance is to descend to the given altitude and comply with the arrival restrictions. He said there has been a lot of confusion in the first week of these new clearances; and didn't seem concerned.The 'descend via' clearance is used differently in the United States and Canada; so crews should be sure to verify with Canadian controllers what is expected of them. Unlike the United States; a descend via clearance in Canada does not allow a descent all the way to the lowest altitude; but the specific assigned altitude.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1445738
Time
Date	201705
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	CYYZ.Airport
State Reference	ON
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	BAe 125 Series 800
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	STAR NUBER2
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Hawker 800 first officer reported an altitude deviation occurred that arose from the difference in 'descend via' clearances between canada and the united states.