Opinion
An Ode to the Misinformed: A Poetic Rant
Written in 2019, when “cash grab” was the most common thing said about drone certification.
A note on this piece. This was written by Kate Klassen in 2019 and is kept here as written. The fees it mentions have since changed — registration is now $10 and the Small Basic exam $10, so the total is $20 rather than $15. The argument holds; the arithmetic has moved.
You call it all a cash grab
But what you haven’t seen
Is the thousands of hours of prep and processing
That Transport Canada has done for free
Literal THOUSANDS of SFOC applications
Without any fees
Not to mention requests and research
Since, I dunno, 2013?
The data is all there
It’s in Canada Gazette 2
They’re barely recovering costs
Go have a boo
It’s not “the libs” or a nanny government
That made up these rules
They consulted, revised and though it may not be perfect
What they’ve done is actually kinda cool!
It’s common sense to fly a drone!
Is this certificate really a must?
I mean, it’s $15 to get legal
Risking thousand dollar fines over that? You’re nuts.
But who’s going to enforce this?
Peace officers, inspectors, the RCMP.
But really, do I have to worry?
If you’ll fly or post anywhere you’ll be seen
1) Register your drone
Put the same number on them all, I don’t care
2) Write your TC test
Prep with our courses or just google – the information is out there
Keep airspace and the public safe
Learn something along the way
Avoid VRS, TBs and broken ESCs
And keep your drone flying another day
Why This Was Written
“Whenever someone mentions ‘cash grab’ I find myself getting frustrated — and if you’ve seen our Facebook ad comments, you’ll know I’ve seen it a lot. First, we’re not the government. Second, look at how easy a ride we’ve had up until now.”
“I wrote this to process those feelings of frustration, and I hope it starts a conversation rather than upsetting anyone. None of it is directed at anyone in particular and it’s meant in good fun. It represents how I felt after five years in this industry, seeing how far we’ve come.”
Want to carry on the conversation? Get in touch with the team — we are always happy to talk about this one.
Getting legal is cheaper than the fine.