Ottawa toughens rules for operating recreational drones

[Birdman5280]

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this a preview of what will happen in the US as well. Again, I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[PropPilot]

It's a buzz kill. I bought the Mavic for vacation footage anyway which is outside of Canada but for the poor buggers that want to fly here, its almost as bad as Sweden.

 

[Steve1966]

It is called UAV FORCAST from Google play store

 

[Steve1966]

Steve, what's the source of this map?

UAV FORCAST Google play store

 

[Oingo Boingo]

Hehe.... Only in Canada ey

 

[Blucenturion]

My dear Canucks. From a Yankee who has lived through, and seen everything from 1951, when I first was able to read news, just sit the **** down and chill. In my home state of Louisiana, where my forebears settled after being kicked out of Quebec and were turned away from English colonies, and States, when those became a Thing, because their government, France, lost a war with England, politicians have made fodder of peoples' customs, pasttimes, and vices. They love nothing so much as anything a minority of the people are attracted to, and, as we say here, making their bones on it. Example, do a bit of research into the reaction of the public, and contrastingly, of politicians, of Elvis, in 1955. While Catholic parishes were holding Bingo games in Louisiana in church halls, the Attorney General, Grevenberg was directing State Police to use AXES to destroy slot machines, after inviting newspaper photographers to accompany them on raids. Next morning, in the Times Picayune, and almost every paper in the state-uniformed goons holding axes aloft. Bingo, Good, Slots, Bad.

Earlier today, on another thread, I stated that drone operators form a User's Group, and pay dues, the purpose of which, was to retain legal counsel to combat the newest Idiocracy in our midst. Yes, the public will get negative reactions to media reports, people will tend to believe anything they see in print. The morons who mis-represent dangers to society to further their own ambitions are as transparent as a trout stream, but Canada and the United States, at least now, before it's brought down by the election by a misinformed electorate, by the biggest moron in our times, do still have human rights representatives, in the form of lawyers at court, to shield us from the horrors we are seeing in Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and many other countries. Form up, defend your rights and privileges. And **** 'em!

 

[Mike Israel]

Here is a link to a news story on this same topic:
AV News: Transport Canada Releases New Dr...

295 Feet? 5.5 miles from ANY airport including a heliport that might get used once a month? Really?

 

[raymo]

Welcome to Canada!!!!!! You may not want to bring your drones to Canada as I suspect Canada Customs has been alerted and will be on the lookout. Confiscation may be a reality. Just so you are warned.

 

[13lade12unner]

The transportation website asks that if you see a drone operating outside the new guidelines to call 911 .... talk about getting the public even more paranoid .... hopefully the 3000 fine will be handed out to ppl flying In dangerous locations such as airports ..... hopefully the police use some common sense in charging ppl!

 

[raymo]

The transportation website asks that if you see a drone operating outside the new guidelines to call 911 .... talk about getting the public even more paranoid .... hopefully the 3000 fine will be handed out to ppl flying In dangerous locations such as airports ..... hopefully the police use some common sense in charging ppl!

I would not guarantee that common sense will prevail. In other areas of the world, total bans are now in effect. Join the military and get a "real" drone, the only legal ones in some countries.

 

[raymo]

I now fly my Furibee F36 in my living room. My MP is in its box. Is this what it has come to?

 

[Capra Vecinului]

Our only hope (at least for a while, until they change the law again): Mavic Pro 2 weight: 249 gr.

 

[DJILeaks]

Birdman i totally agree that the 'contagion' these Canadian rules may have to other jurisdictions is one of the scary things right now.
Blucenturion, Canadian politicians have never been in the business or repealing their own (or any other politicians) regulations. The fact that they uni-laterally enacted these rules without any form of consultation with drone users or manufacturers shows how disinterested the politicians are in democratic ideas.

 

[Frits]

I am all for reasonable and responsible regulation but I have two major issues with what came out yesterday:
1: compulsory attaching your name, address and telephone number to your drone. WHAT!!??? Do as in the US: must register with the FAA and attach the registration number to your drone. Then the authorities can find you if needed vs getting an "offended hothead" on your doorstep.
2: the actual INCITEMENT of the government for people to call 9-1-1 (!!!) if they observe anyone infringing on the rules.

I am a law abiding citizen and respectful of rules and regulations, but the 2 above items throws it all out the window for me.

 

[Capra Vecinului]

I am all for reasonable and responsible regulation but I have two major issues with what came out yesterday:
1: compulsory attaching your name, address and telephone number to your drone. WHAT!!??? Do as in the US: must register with the FAA and attach the registration number to your drone. Then the authorities can find you if needed vs getting an "offended hothead" on your doorstep.
2: the INCITEMENT of the government for people to call 9-1-1 (!!!) if they observe anyone infringing on the rules.

I am a law abiding citizen and respectful of rules and regulations, but the 2 above items throws it all out the window for me.

Apparently, FAA is a waste of time; judgemental and concerned citizens (Neighborhood Drone Watch) with torches, axes & forks have to know quickly where the terrorist/perpetrator resides!

 

[Frits]

I am all for reasonable and responsible regulation but I have two major issues with what came out yesterday:
1: compulsory attaching your name, address and telephone number to your drone. WHAT!!??? Do as in the US: must register with the FAA and attach the registration number to your drone. Then the authorities can find you if needed vs getting an "offended hothead" on your doorstep.
2: the actual INCITEMENT of the government for people to call 9-1-1 (!!!) if they observe anyone infringing on the rules.

I am a law abiding citizen and respectful of rules and regulations, but the 2 above items throws it all out the window for me.

Commenting on my own post: I have cut-and-pasted this in the Comments section of the Government's page of Transport Canada (and included my coordinates).

I hope that many others will do the same, besides commenting in forums like this.

 

[Kawboy12R]

1: compulsory attaching your name, address and telephone number to your drone. WHAT!!??? Do as in the US: must register with the FAA and attach the registration number to your drone. Then the authorities can find you if needed vs getting an "offended hothead" on your doorstep.

My guess is that this is the best instant form of "registration" they could do ahead of probable upcoming registration regulations later this year when they have some people/infrastructure in place to back it up. It might be better to put, say, your driver's licence number in there if you have one. That's effectively the same as the new requirement without possible revenge consequences. You'd have to balance that with the possibility of a fine for not following the letter of the law regardless of your good intentions though.

Either that or they know they can't do anything like a "real" registration system for under a few hundred million dollars or more. Remember the gun registry? What a money pit farce that was.

 

[Steve1966]

I am all for reasonable and responsible regulation but I have two major issues with what came out yesterday:
1: compulsory attaching your name, address and telephone number to your drone. WHAT!!??? Do as in the US: must register with the FAA and attach the registration number to your drone. Then the authorities can find you if needed vs getting an "offended hothead" on your doorstep.
2: the actual INCITEMENT of the government for people to call 9-1-1 (!!!) if they observe anyone infringing on the rules.

I am a law abiding citizen and respectful of rules and regulations, but the 2 above items throws it all out the window for me.

Wow 911 is for emergency only.
I would really hope they just change that to call your local police.

 

[raymo]

My guess is that this is the best instant form of "registration" they could do ahead of probable upcoming registration regulations later this year when they have some people/infrastructure in place to back it up. It might be better to put, say, your driver's licence number in there if you have one. That's effectively the same as the new requirement without possible revenge consequences. You'd have to balance that with the possibility of a fine for not following the letter of the law regardless of your good intentions though.

Either that or they know they can't do anything like a "real" registration system for under a few hundred million dollars or more. Remember the gun registry? What a money pit farce that was.

That's exactly what I said, in terms of gun laws. We used to have them and they got dumped. Billions of dollars down the tubes and for what? BTW, when I bought my second P2V+, I filled out a form that was a registration. That was over a year and a half ago. THIS LAW VIRTUALLY BANS DRONES FROM CANADA. Marc Garneau stated that you cannot fly within 75 metres distance of "animals". I don't know of any place where there are NO animals. In all my years of flying, I have ever only seen one seagull struck by a plane. Pretty well dismembered the bird and the plane landed safely. I've had close flying with ducks, geese, sparrows, starlings, blackbirds and other birds, but never had an incident. Compare this to the hundreds of birds killed in wind turbine farms. Maybe they need to ban wind turbines too. They are a huge threat to animals.

 

[Derodeo]

Good luck to anyone who manages to not fly their drone within 75m of an ANIMAL. This is an extremely poorly worded piece of legislation and deserves to be ridiculed. But the effect it will have on the general public will be immense. Appealing to citizens to call 911 will do more to demonize drone flying than anything else they could legislate.

The question as to why the government would do something this draconian is interesting. Sure part of it is pandering to the ignorant, getting a few cheap votes pretending to protect America ... err, Canada. The perception of real world risk that comes with recreational drone flying is horribly skewed. But the bigger picture is likely more sinister. In this era of militarizing police and other less public enforcement agencies, I am sure just about the last thing these agencies want is for the public to be able to freely fly drones.