Committee urges Transport Canada to hasten UAV regs

By Ken Pole | February 22, 2017

The federal government is being urged to come up with “simple, clear and enforceable” regulations for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a rapidly-evolving sector which benefits society in “many ways” but is still fraught with safety issues.

In an interim report provided to Skies on Feb. 22, the all-party House of Commons transport committee, chaired by former Liberal cabinet minister Judy Sgro, acknowledged Transport Canada provides Special Flight Operating Certificates for mostly commercial, security and emergency response applications. However, it identifies recreational operators as “the greatest safety concern” the department still needs to address.

“The UAV industry is growing very rapidly with businesses that develop, test, manufacture and sell UAVs and their components, generating significant activity in the economies where they are located,” the committee said, recommending permanent identification markings and transponders on all platforms. “Despite the establishment of safety regulations and guidelines, UAVs can pose an increasing risk to piloted aircraft as well as people and property on the ground.”

The urgency of the situation is such that the committee decided to issue its interim report after only five hearings, during which it received testimony from, among others, Air Line Pilots Association International, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Nav Canada and various Transport Canada officials.

The government’s latest initiative, Transportation 2030, announced last November by Transport Minister Marc Garneau, includes a proposed review of the UAV regulatory environment. The committee said any future framework must balance the need for safety and security while remaining flexible for the industry and that it should complement U.S. regulations “to establish and maintain a seamless and effective cross-border . . . environment.”

Transport Canada is also urged, among other things, to:

• Establish UAV speed and altitude limits in controlled airspace;
• Designate “additional, safely-situated airspace for . . . testing, training, and recreational use;”
• Work with UAV manufacturers and commercial operators “to actively engage with private individuals” who modify UAVs;
• Introduce classes of UAVs;
• Assess “the appropriateness” of regulating autonomous UAVs;
• Ensure that the commercial sector is “not exclusively subject to self-regulation;”
• Streamline commercial and professional certification;
• Require a permit for all commercial and professional operators and study the possibility of requiring permits for recreational operators; and
• Coordinate a public education program.

In a minority report, the New Democratic Party said that while it supports some of the majority recommendations, others raise more questions than provide clear guidance. This was “particularly true” of the suggestion that manufacturers and commercial operators work with individuals who modify UAVs.

The NDP also said Garneau should “further disclose his vision” for his 2030 plan and that the Privacy Commissioner should review how UAVs can affect issues under his jurisdiction, including the potential for data snooping.