Canada's domestic regulatory framework for RPAS: A call for public deliberation

As of October 2012, Transport Canada approved the first phase in Canada's evolving regulatory framework for remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), with three more phases to be put in place over the next four years. The focus of the first phase was only on small RPAS, but already several issues stand out as being particularly problematic, especially if they are carried through into the next phases of regulatory development: the extent of the private sector's influence; exclusion of some types of RPAS from regulation; and the extent of the collaboration between regulatory officials and the Canadian military. Over the next few years it will be imperative for civil society actors to take a more active role in ensuring that these remotely piloted technologies, which can be used to spy on and monitor citizens, are deployed and regulated in a manner consistent with the values of privacy, freedom, and democracy.