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ARTICLE · 04 APRIL 2017

Transport Canada Announces New Regulations For Recreational Drones

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Recent changes to the regulations for recreational operations seem to open the door to enforcement by municipalities and local police departments.

CanadaTransport
Katherine Ayre
Katherine Ayre
Robin Squires
Robin Squires
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Transport Canada has exclusive jurisdiction over the civil operation of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and model aircraft that operate within Canadian airspace. However, recent changes to the regulations for recreational operations seem to open the door to enforcement by municipalities and local police departments.

On March 13, 2017 the Minister of Transport issued an Interim Order Respecting the Use of Model Aircraft pursuant to 6.41(1) of the Aeronautics Act R.S.C., 1985, c. A-2. This interim order creates regulations for model aircraft or "drones" that weigh anywhere from 250 grams to 35 kilograms and are used for recreational purposes. The regulations currently do not define "recreational purposes", but Transport Canada adopts the dictionary definition of recreation being "not for work — done for pleasure or relaxation." The interim order does not affect the current regulations with respect to commercial UAV operations or the necessity of obtaining a Special

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