Evidence of meeting #41 for National Defence in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was uavs.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Jack Harris
Well, I'll give you my name and my card so that you can get my email address.
Can you give us an idea of the cost of this equipment? Search and rescue is a military function in Canada. Is this something that's deployable, or do we have to multiply it by 10 times the cost to put “RCAF” on the side of it?
5:10 p.m.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ING Robotic Aviation
I'd be delighted if we did, but I have to compete in the world. As I said earlier, the helicopter is priced like a tricked-out pickup truck; it really is.
We have operated across Canada and up into the Arctic. We just do this. This is what we do now for Environment Canada, for the oil companies, etc.
The price points are absolutely what is affordable, even by the Rangers.
5:10 p.m.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ING Robotic Aviation
Yes.
With the bigger systems—the seven-boxers, or I would go with eight, and so with a two-aircraft system—you're a little bit more than that, more or less in the range of a combine harvester.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Jack Harris
My next question has to do with the JUSTAS program, which you know about. Ms. Murray asked about it. It was originally planned and in the planning stage in the year 2000. In 2006 it was supposed to cost $500 million. The latest figures are $1 billion to $1.5 billion. Am I the only one who thinks that's a lot of money for the surveillance side, for example, even given Canada's coast?
Is this something that, as a result of time and technology and all of the things you're talking about today is way more doable now for a lot less cost?
5:15 p.m.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ING Robotic Aviation
Yes, that's absolutely true. Technology has become cheaper and better; we have moved on. The fact that it has an American flag on it doesn't make it the right product to buy.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Jack Harris
Okay.
Those were really my two questions. As I said, the idea of our Rangers actually being able to extend their capability and meet some of the capability problems we have with the size of our country, particularly in the search and rescue instances that are going to occur where people live.... If we already have people there in the form of Rangers, or the capability to have them there, that can certainly help with search, such as in a search for a boy like Burton Winters, who walked for 19 kilometres when nobody was there looking for him.
Is weather in the Arctic less of a problem for these than we think it is, or what is the case?
5:15 p.m.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ING Robotic Aviation
You just need the power to deal with the weather. There are days when there are reasons, in Inuvik or Tuktoyaktuk, for their taking big cables and strapping down the houses. There are days when it just isn't a good day. But that is the reason we designed to at least match manned aviation in the flight profile and then push those envelopes.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Jack Harris
Thank you very much.
This being the end of our session today, I thank you both very much for coming. It was a most interesting meeting.
If there is nothing further, I will accept a motion to adjourn.
