It seems like your friend needs to look up what ICAO Class G airspace is, and what “uncontrolled” implies.
It’s not necessarily his fault- they do a bad job teaching this in groundschool.
It means that no air traffic control or separation services are provided, although Flight Information Services are provided (if you can reach them). This applies anywhere you find Class G, beit in the USA, Canada, or even at FL360 in Mogadishu FIR. YOU are responsible for not hitting other IFR or VFR traffic.