Canadian recreational drone enthusiasts believed that the the Canadian Government’s March 2017 interim regulations regarding the use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) were too restrictive. The Canadian government has listened with amendments to the interim regulations announced July 15, 2017.
Operators of drones of under 250 grams (0.55 lbs) are unregulated except for privacy laws. It is unclear how effective privacy laws can be for a drone of under 250 grams that provides no indication of its owner. In any event, if the drone is being used for non-commercial use, it will not be subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. This is a big privacy fail by Transport Canada.
Operators of drones weighing between 250 grams and 1 kilogram (0.55 lbs and 2.2 lbs) can now be flown within 30 meters (100 feet) from vehicles, vessels and the public. Drones between 1 kg and 35 kg (2.2 lbs and 77.2 lbs) can be operated within 75 meters (250 feet) from vehicles, vessels and the public.
This is what 75 meters looks like according to http://www.freemaptools.com and Google:
That’s actually a big distance when you consider that it applies to the “public”. However, that distance doesn’t address the photographic capabilities of the drone, which may be affect a broader field. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has to say and if the OPC was even consulted.
You can click here to find Interim Order No. 8.
Click here for the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement.
Categories: Privacy