Marc Garneau, Canada’s Federal Minister of Transport, has announced new regulations for recreational drone users. From now on, Canadians are prohibited from flying a drone higher than 90 meters, within 75 meters of buildings, animals or people, within nine kilometers of an airport, at night, or if you are not within 500 meters of your flying device.

Additionally, your name, address, and telephone number must clearly be marked on the drone. Those who do not follow these rules face fines of up to $3,000. The new rules have been implemented because of the increasing number of accidents involving drones. There were 148 of them last year compared to just 41 back in 2014.

At a news conference, Marc Garneau said that the majority of recreational drone users are new and therefore inexperienced, meaning that they might not understand all the safety risks associated with the use of these devices. He also added that a collision between a drone and an aircraft could have disastrous consequences.

Joseph Yeremian, who is an engineer and member of the Ontario Aerospace Council Board, believes that the new regulations are necessary to ensure safety as well as privacy. He said that in addition to interfering with aircrafts, drones can also interrupt power lines as well as plummet to the ground and injure people. This is just one of the reasons why it’s now mandatory to write your personal info on the drone.

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The new rules, if followed, will definitely decrease the number of drone-related accidents in Canada. They will also prevent people from spying on their neighbors, which is always a good thing. However, they are so strict that the use of drones in Canada has now become extremely difficult because as soon as you’re near other people or a building, your drone is not allowed to take off.

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