Drones don’t get free reign over Calgary

If you’re planning on buying a drone for someone this Christmas, or hoping for one yourself, Calgary Police have three simple words for you: know the rules!

They held a information session on drone safety Saturday afternoon, where they revealed flying a drone in the city may not be as easy as you think, and in fact it’s almost impossible.

“You can’t fly within 100 feet of a street, again, that’s pretty much anywhere in the city,” says Sergeant Colin Foster.

Drones also cannot be flown in parks, near any structure, over people or their homes, or within seven nautical miles of the airport.

It’s a lot of rules to process, Sgt. Foster continues.

“It’s quite confusing, it’s even confusing for us. We’ve got a pretty good handle on it now, but on the same token people will not know what those rules and regulations are.”

CPS held this session in response to a huge influx of calls they have received in the last year. Constable Dallas Grimm, who also is on air patrol part-time, says it’s scary to encounter a drone while he’s in the air and many other people are concerned too.

“I’m not gonna lie, the last year has been our most extensive calls for service in regards to drones.”

They have good reason to be concerned too, following an incident in January where a man was convicted and fined for flying a drone within 50 feet of a landing airplane at Calgary International Airport. That person was actually an employee at the airport and along with the fine, also lost his job. It was the first time in Canada someone has ever been convicted of reckless drone flying.

In another incident that is still under investigation, a man was apprehended outside McMahon Stadium before he could fly a drone over the field during a Calgary Stampeders game.

If you’re found flying in a park, you face a fine, but you will be forced to go to court if you fly too close to a street. Not to mention possible voyeurism charges if someone complains about a drone near their home.

While it may seem hopeless for drone enthusiasts, there are legal routes to fly. For example, you can get a special operations license to use a commercial drone, meaning any drone with a camera on it, and you can clear flights ahead of time with the airport or Transport Canada.

Still, Chris Jones was among those at the meeting who left discouraged.

“I really did come to see just what can I do and what can’t I do, and I found out there’s a whole lot less I can do.”

This is even worse because drone flying is an expensive hobby.

“If you go on a decent drone, you’re gonna spend a couple grand to get everything you need to do it, so how much do you want to spend that money if you got so many restrictions where you can’t really do it?” says Jones.

But Calgary police want to make it clear they are not trying to find people to give fines too. At this time, they are focusing on education and hope that people can continue to enjoy drones safely.

“Go out, do it, but do it safely and do it according to what the laws are now and the laws that are in place,” says Cst. Grimm.

There are a few resources to get more information, including the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada and Transport Canada.