Seems the three-year exemption from Ontario’s Bill 118 granted amateurs holding a valid radio operator’s certificate only applies to Canadian amateurs. The government exemption applies to operators holding radio certificates issued under the Radiocommunications Act (Canada). This means foreign amateurs including hams from the U.S. are not exempt from immediate prosecution under Ontario’s distracted driving legislation.
Pages
Archives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
ARRL
Blogroll
Groups/Clubs/Assoc.
Ham Radio Retailers
Radio Amateurs of Canada
Space
Recent Posts
- RAC Bulletin 2013-019E – Radio Amateur of Canada Foundation Grants
- Bulletin de RAC 2013-019F – Bourses de la Fondation Radio Amateurs du Canada
- RAC Bulletin 2013-018E – Grow, Thrive and Influence: The future of RAC and Amateur Radio
- Bulletin de RAC 2013-018F – Grandir, prospérer et influencer: le futur de RAC et de la radio amateur
- RAC Bulletin 2013-017E – Radio Amateur of the Year for 2012
Categories
- AMSAT
- ARES
- ARISS/RASSI
- ARRL
- Bill 118
- Bulletins de RAC
- Cell Phone Laws
- Communications Events
- Contesting
- Distracted Driving
- Emergency Communications
- Executive Posts
- Fun stuff
- Hall of Fame
- IARU
- Industry Canada
- ITU
- Membership Campaign
- News
- NTS
- P.R. Info
- RAC Administration Notice
- RAC Bulletin
- RADIO AMATEURS OF CANADA
- Silent Key/clé silencieux
- Special Event Station
- TCA
- Tech info
- Transformation
- Uncategorized
So Ontario now wants to over-ride international agreements as well!
RIC-3 – Information on the Amateur Radio Service5. Reciprocal Operating Agreements and Arrangements
5.1 Convention between Canada and the United States of America
The operation of amateur radio service equipment and stations in the territory of the other country is covered in Treaty Series 1952 No. 7 — Operation of Certain Radio Equipment or Stations, Convention between Canada and the United States of America.
Visiting amateurs are not required to register or receive a permit before operating their amateur radio stations.
Each amateur station shall indicate at least once during each contact with another station its geographical location as nearly as possible by city and state or city and province.
The amateur station shall be operated in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country in which the station is temporarily located.
anadian amateurs operating in the U.S. have the same privileges as they have in Canada, limited by U.S. band edges and mode restrictions in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations(CFR), Title 47, Chapter I (FCC), Part 97, Amateur Radio Service.
U.S. amateurs operating in Canada must abide by the Radiocommunication Regulations and Radiocommunication Information Circular 2, Standards for the Operation of Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service RIC-2). Those who are qualified to send and receive Morse code at a speed of at least 5 w.p.m. may operate in accordance with privileges accorded to holders of the Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic, Morse code and Advanced Qualifications. U.S. amateurs who are not qualified to send and receive Morse code may operate in accordance with privileges accorded to holders of the Amateur Radio Operator Certificate with Basic Qualification.
NB:The amateur station shall be operated in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country in which the station is temporarily located.
Country….not Province.
This gets more crazy all the time!
73,
Brian
VE3BHD
U.S. and foreign amateurs can still operate their equipment while visiting Canada .. but now apparently not while driving a vehicle.
Regulatory Information Manager for ARRL notified and replied with thanks for this (confirmed) info and will do followup as well and notify their members about not being exempt for 3 years .
Some of you are misreading the regulation. First off municipal and/or provincial law cannot supersede federal law.
Because Canada has a reciprical licensing agreement with the USA then by this agreement a US amateur has the same or equal license as a Canadian amateur. Thus an Amercian amateur would be included in exemption from all provincial legislation.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The information in VE7CM’s posting is incorrect as far as the time-limited exemption from Bill 118 in Ontario. A telephone conversation with Ministry of Ontario staff reveals that the exemption only applies to Canadian amateurs. U.S. Amateurs operating under the reciprocal agreement in Ontario must operate in hands-mode.)
What I thoroughly find stupid is in reading the ONTARIO REGULATION 366/09, under section 14, (1)http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2009/elaws_src_regs_r09366_e.htm, if the microphone stays in the holder and you reach over to push the PTT, *that* is legal… (Hmm.. a gooseneck?) and under (2) you *CAN* hold your hand to your head, your ear or your clothing to operate a PTT switch. Wow… that’s not distracted… that’s not taking the hands off the wheel… that’s not increasing the likelihood of an accident by significant amounts!
Oh and by the way, in (2), the part “or to transmit or receive voice communication on a two-way radio or a hand microphone or portable radio.”, which does *NOT* expire in 2013 clearly states pressing a button on a hand microphone attached to a hand-held or portable radio, SO LONG AS IT IS ATTACHED TO YOUR CLOTHING is LEGAL!!
Granted, I was planning on setting up a headset and having a PTT switch on the vehicle anyways, but then a bunch of jurisdictions ban headsets. You just can’t win.
I think the government should pony up some $ if they want us PRIVATE CITIZENS who are FEDERALLY LICENSED to let a PROVINCIAL authority whom we provide services to during emergencies AS A VOLUNTEER tell us we have 3 years to replace our gear since as far as I know, nobody makes a retrofit hands-free that works worth a bean. We aren’t a municipality, we don’t get government subsidies to upgrade our gear when things like this change, many of us are senior citizens on bare-bones budgets and so on.