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ARTICLE · 15 JANUARY 2019

Drones: A New Way Forward

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

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Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), dominated the media for all the wrong reasons at the end of 2018.

CanadaTransport
Auriol Marasco
Auriol Marasco
Jason MacIntyre
Jason MacIntyre
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Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), dominated the media for all the wrong reasons at the end of 2018. The recent drone-related closures of Gatwick and Heathrow airports have refocused the public's attention on drone regulation. The Canadian UAV industry has been anxiously awaiting the modernization of the regulation of UAV operations within visual line-of-sight (VLOS). While draft regulations were released, Transport Canada signaled some departure from their content and the Federal Government had been aiming to release the final regulations before the end of 2018.

On January 9, 2019, Transport Minister, Marc Garneau, provided an overview of the new regulations for the operation of UAVs under 25 kilograms. Below is a summary of some of the key changes proposed in the draft regulations published in the Canada Gazette, which will not come into force until June 1, 2019:

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