ATHABASCA – One Town of Athabasca councillor is concerned about the usage of mini-drones following multiple incidents of improper usage over the last month.
During the June 6 council meeting, councillors voted 6-0 in favour — Coun. Darlene Reimer was absent — to have administration consult with the Athabasca RCMP about what the best practice should be, and to look at other municipalities and see what types of bylaws they have in place.
Coun. Jonathan LeMessurier brought forward the topic as over the last month and a half, multiple people had come to him with complaints about a drone seemingly observing what they’re doing.
“I struggled with bringing this up at council, but I would like your ideas about what as a municipality we can do, and what we as a council can do about (drone usage). I know other municipalities and cities have certain bylaws and rules,” said LeMessurier.
“There was one I heard about where two girls who were hanging out by the rink and were chased by a drone into the shelter there, and there was another one where the drone came by after soccer, when there’s a bunch of kids running around.”
Athabasca would hardly be the first municipality to enact bylaws around drone usage as Calgary and Canmore, among others, both have bylaws that prohibit launching and operating drones in public parks.
“It’s something we could do, we have the ability to contract the county bylaw officer to come in and do that. I do think that this is something that needs to be brought to the RCMP’s attention,” said mayor Rob Balay. “Especially with the example you gave (about the two girls), flying in underneath a cover like that could be quite dangerous.”
Transport Canada (TC) oversees registration and licensing of personal drone usage. Currently, if a drone is over 250 grams but under 25 kilograms, it must be registered and the operator is required to hold a drone pilot licence, while if it’s under 250 grams, no registration is required.
While TC does allow for drones to be operated in any public space, pilots do have to follow “ … all other laws when flying,” according to its website, including laws around privacy and voyeurism.
Coun. David Pacholok spoke in favour of the motion, saying that he wanted to reach out to the RCMP and see what actions should be taken.
“I want to ask the RCMP and find out what exactly we can do in our situation and figure out what the best options are for us moving forward.”
Athabasca RCMP say that all drones must be in visual sight of the pilot or an observer and cannot be flown over 400 feet and must stay 100 feet away in all directions from any person and cannot be more than 100 metres above a building or any structure. If the public notices drone activities that are not aligned with these basic guidelines, they should report it to police and an investigation can be initiated to determine if that drone pilot is authorized to be carrying out that activity.
