In Canada, the use of drones for pesticide application, otherwise known as Remote Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), is regulated by two Federal Departments: Transport Canada establishes regulations for safe operation and Health Canada for the registration and conditions of use of pest control products.
Drones are already used in Canadian agriculture for crop surveillance and livestock management, and they’re being used to apply granular fertilizers, for pollination, for frost protection and greenhouse shade management. The use of drones for general spraying was cleared by Transport Canada in July 2017. In 2018, Health Canada stipulated that the use of RPAS for pesticide application is not allowed under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) without sufficient data to characterize the hazards or risks associated with this use. You can read the updated (as of June, 2023) Pest Management Regulatory Agency Information note on the subject of pesticides applied by drone, here.
At this time this article was written, only three pest control products were registered for application by RPAS in Canada. These were restricted-use microbials (two granular and one liquid) intended for larval mosquito control. Their labels were expanded to include RPAS in the fall of 2022 but as of 2023 no province or territory has yet permitted their application. International RPAS working groups (e.g. the OECD working party on pesticides and drones) comprised of academics, the agrichemical industry, government regulatory agencies, and both drone manufacturers and operators, are working collaboratively to assemble the evidence-based information we need to inform the expansion of other pesticide labels. These studies include:
- comparative evaluations of efficacy
- operator and bystander exposure studies
- drift studies
- residue studies, and
- technical evaluations of how environmental, topographical, and operational parameters affect the above
In parallel, several groups are working to develop pesticide safety certification and training materials. Pesticide training and certification programs across Canada are based on the Standard for Pesticide Education, Training and Certification in Canada. Canadian provinces/territories are responsible for the training and certification of pesticide vendors and applicators based on these standards. A national core manual for RPAS operator is anticipated.
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