The reciprocal agreement simply allowed the pilot in good standing of their home organization to fly in the other country under the insurance of the home country/organization. If you looked deeper into this agreement you would find that the visiting pilot had to adhere to the more restrictive of the rules of both countries. Canadians flying in the US would be under the same obligations when flying in the US. A prime example would be height restrictions of say 400 ft. In Canada we are exempt under MAAC but US flyers in Canada would still have to observe their rules to be considered covered by their AMA insurance. Canadians though exempt at home would have to follow the 400 ft altitude when flying in the US just like the AMA pilots. This reciprocal agreement was only between the US and Canada.
Transport Canada only granted exemptions for members in good standing of MAAC. Non Canadians would have to jump through hoops with Transport Canada to obtain permission to fly anything in Canada as well as fly under all current flight restrictions without exemption.
MAAC's work around was to offer memberships to non Canadians wishing to fly in Canada. You now would be a member in good standing and be allowed to fly under the MAAC umbrella with the same exemptions all MAAC members enjoy. The second bonus is you are covered by first party insurance of up to 7.5 million I believe but only while flying in Canada. I am not positive but it is my understanding you must be a member of your home organization (AMA) to be allowed to purchase MAAC associate membership.
Canadians on the other hand when flying in the US still enjoy their home insurance coverage of 7.5 million first party insurance however they must fly under the rules of the AMA and pass all the same requirements of any AMA pilot. MAAC members must join the AMA as an associate member.
This is the bulletin I received from MAAC today
Dear Member,
The Academy of Model Aeronautics has recently announced that starting January 1, 2022 MAAC members will need to get AMA affiliate memberships and must follow FAA regulations and requirements to be able to fly any category of model aircraft in the United States. An excerpt from their announcement is below. “Effective January 1, 2022, AMA will require MAAC members to join AMA as an affiliate member in order to fly at our fields and events. An affiliate membership for non-US permanent residents is $36(USD) per year and includes insurance and competitive privileges. Click here to sign up as an AMA Affiliate member. “Non-US citizens are required to follow the same model aircraft regulations that US citizens are required to follow, including registering at FAA’s Drone Zone and taking The Recreational UAS Safety Test at
www.modelaircraft.org/trust.