Rules ground drones
Safety regulations make recreational drone use illegal in Nunavut hamlets
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Monday, March 27, 2017
NUNAVUT
Nunavummiut will have a hard time flying drones after a set of new safety rules for recreational drone use in Canada went into effect March 16.
New federal safety restrictions for recreational drone use within nine kilometres of airports mean Northerners could face fines as high as $3,000 for flying in their hamlets. - David Ho/NNSL photo |
The Transport Canada regulations state drones must be marked with contact information of the owner and may not be flown higher than 90 metres, at night, within 75 metres of buildings, vehicles or people, or within nine kilometres of the centre of any airport, heliport, aerodrome or water aerodrome where aircraft take off and land.
In Nunavut, entire communities lie within nine kilometres of the airport.
Fines for breaking regulation are as high as $3,000 for recreational users.
Transport Canada states the regulations are to ensure aviation safety and protect citizens from "reckless drone use."
According to Transport Canada, incidents involving recreational drones have more than tripled since 2014, though the department is not aware of any collisions between manned aviation and drones occurring in Canada.
"Use of airspace by untrained people with drones is a fairly new hazard," stated Iqaluit airport director John Hawkins in an e-mail to Nunavut News/North.
He said this is just one addition to a list of restricted activities within the vicinity of airports.
The GN doesn't have numbers on drone incidents.
"Statistics aren't really the issue here," stated Hawkins. "If an aircraft were to strike a drone, there is a high probability it would result in damage to the aircraft which could lead to injury or fatality."
He has not received any complaints or reports of problems around hamlet airports, but stressed, "even one drone in the wrong place presents an unacceptable level of risk."
The regulations apply to recreational drones weighing above 250 g and up to and including 35 kg. "Flying a drone in the North is actually quite tricky," said David Ho, a Kugluktuk photographer and owner of two drones.
"A lot of drones are governed by GPS and compass. For (users) in the Arctic circle, drones do not always behave properly. You tend to get fly-aways with drones because the compasses do not react properly."
He said often times drones must be flown on manual mode in the North and users must be even more cautious when it comes to wind.
He said it's a shame that recreational operators are more impacted in Northern hamlets where air traffic is quite low, but that it only takes a quick YouTube check of drone videos to see that many users fail to take safety into account.
Ho is looking into commercial licencing so he can use the drones for freelance work.
"Operators of drones for commercial, academic or research purposes are not affected by this measure," stated the March 16 release by the Department of Transport.
"The rules that are already in place are effective and most commercial users operate their drones in a safe manner."
Commercial users require approval and certification via a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) unless they meet the strict safety requirements for an exemption.
"We knew this was coming. These are basically the rules that we have to comply to as a commercial drone operator and have had to since we opened for business," said Ken Spencer, chief of strategic partnerships for the Iqaluit-based company Arctic UAV Inc.
"What they are trying to do is control the amateur traffic."
Commercial drone users apply to work in specific locations and elevations. By requirement they make projects known to nearby airports.
Arctic UAV uses drones for survey work, one example of which is Inuit-owned land adjacent to the new Iqaluit airport, said Spencer.
"We're certified, we're trained, we're insured," he said.
"(The new regulations) restrict the recreational user to a certain extent, but the restrictions are more to do with flying in populated areas, which you are not supposed to do, and flying in restricted airspace, which you are not supposed to do. It's all for safety reasons."
The regulations are made on an interim basis and will be in effect for up to one year until permanent regulations can be established.
