Evidence of meeting #35 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was airships.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Guy S. Ginter  Acting Director, Impact and Benefit Agreement, Moose Cree First Nation
Barry Prentice  President, ISO Polar
Stuart Russell  President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

There's the hot air balloon. I heard your previous answer. If Canada were to change that, what would need to happen?

10:05 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

The regulations would have to be changed.

The U.S. regulations are something like 50 hours on an airship after you have a fixed-wing aircraft pilot licence, and 10 of those hours have to be on an actual airship. The other 40 could be in a simulator. I believe that's what the U.S. regulations are. I can get the fine details for that, but that is what the U.S. requires.

What Canada really did is we adopted a lot of the U.S. regulations, but we didn't adopt the update. We have the previous regulations.

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

I see that in August 2011 Hybrid Air Vehicles signed a provisional deal with Discovery Air Innovations to sell the hybrid for use in northern Canada, with the hope of its being finalized this year. Was it finalized? Is it four to five airships at $40 million per aircraft? Is this just talk, or did it actually happen?

10:05 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

It's more than just talk, but maybe Stu would have the information better than I do.

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

So it's signed. Has it been delivered? The first is supposed to be delivered in 2014. What's the plan there?

10:05 a.m.

President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

Stuart Russell

Quite honestly, and again from my own perspective.... The Hybrid Air Vehicles in the United Kingdom is a group I've been associated with for about seven years, watching what they've been doing and helping them to get advice about what you do at 40-below and 50-below in the Arctic to move things.

The current situation is that Hybrid Air Vehicles and Discovery Air have come up with a program where Discovery Air would like to fly these vehicles and Hybrid Air Vehicles would like to manufacture them, have them shipped over here and designed.

Currently there is the LEMV project with the U.S. Army. They built a prototype of this machine for surveillance, for the U.S. Army. It's been moved to North America. It's been assembled in the eastern seaboard at Lakehurst, in New Jersey. It's my personal opinion that if the LEMV project flies and it does what the U.S. Army wants it to do, they will purchase two more of the machines, to make it a total of three unmanned machines. It will be the credibility stamp, in my opinion, to the airship and hybrid industry that says that the concept works.

As Barry mentioned earlier, most of the airplanes we fly cargo with in the north today were built from a military budget. Airships and hybrids are not the same, so they need somebody to come along and support that program. If the LEMV project works and the U.S. Army adopts it, it will give a credibility stamp to industry, and then that project with Discovery Air and Hybrid Air Vehicles will have a possibility to go forward to bring those hybrids to Canada. They say that the first quarter of 2015 is conceptually when they're looking at for them.

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Oh, so it's no longer.... Is the deal signed, though?

10:05 a.m.

President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

Stuart Russell

Again, I'm no expert on that. I believe they have an arrangement in place.

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

So the arrangement is in place, and they plan to use it in Canada?

10:05 a.m.

President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

Stuart Russell

That's correct.

10:05 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

And in order for that to take place, we need the regulations. We need pilot licensing.

Has Discovery Air Innovations approached Transport Canada? Have they asked Transport Canada to assist them in a certain way? Has there been any application for funding of any kind? Are you aware of any of that?

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed

I'll just let the committee know that we do have DAI coming in on Thursday.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Thank you.

10:10 a.m.

President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

Stuart Russell

That would be better. But to answer that question, I'm not inside on that information, but I know they've been working together closely.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Thank you. I will save my questions on all the details for that time.

On the research side, is this the most advanced vehicle on the entire list?

10:10 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

At this point, it is.

10:10 a.m.

President, Livingstone Range Consulting Services

Stuart Russell

In my opinion, it is.

10:10 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

Although the Lockheed Martin vehicle has been built and flown, so in some ways it's more advanced. It's more proven.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Sorry, I couldn't really hear you.

10:10 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

Lockheed Martin built and flew a prototype vehicle actually some three or four years ago.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Right. What did they do to it?

10:10 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

Well, they were looking for this military contract, and everybody thought they were going to get it, and then surprisingly they did not. Northrop Grumman got it.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

So did they shelve the airship?

10:10 a.m.

President, ISO Polar

Dr. Barry Prentice

No, they still have it and they continue to do research on it. In fact a business in Calgary has been talking with them. I don't know the status of that, but they've looked at a civilian model of it as a possibility. But they certainly have continued to refine that vehicle since that time.

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed

Mr. Toet.