Evidence of meeting #35 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was drones.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Chief Executive Officer, ING Robotic Aviation Inc,
I think it's absolutely necessary. I think it's essential. We went from having only a few drones to millions, certainly tens of thousands in Canada. It's past the tipping point.
We need this level of certainty about who's flying where, but it has to be both manned and unmanned for the system to work.
Chairman of the Board, Unmanned Systems Canada
The short answer is yes. I think we have a framework to do that. We're concerned about how we get there from here and how we make business continuity work for everybody, but the requirement to have design standards is critical. At the smallest level, if you call it unregulated or a toy—the very small size—it applies, just like the Canadian Standards Association. Something needs to be in place.
Conservative
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Let me ask you a very quick question that you can answer yes or no.
To your knowledge, does any country require the manufacturers of these vehicles to meet a minimum safety standard, such as the one we are discussing at the moment? Has any country reached the point of imposing manufacturing standards, as has been done in the automotive sector for rearview cameras, for example?
Just answer yes or no, because my time is running out.
Conservative
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
So if we did it, we would be leaders. I think the government really likes being a leader.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
That's great.
I'm going to thank the witnesses who are here. We will suspend momentarily to switch to our next panel of witnesses.
Again, we have a sample for you to look at and familiarize yourselves with. Let's take two minutes to do that while we switch the panel of witnesses.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
I call the meeting back to order. Could I have the witnesses please take their place at the table. Mr. Di Benedetto, Kerry Moher, and Marc Moffat, would you please take your place at the table.
For the interest of the people at the back of the room and for the committee, the folks will stay for the remainder of the meeting and be either in this room or outside to answer additional questions, if the committee or others have them.
I thank everybody for their patience.
Mr. Iacono and Mr. Aubin, we are resuming our meeting. Would everybody please take their seats or leave the room? It's your choice.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Fraser, you have six minutes for questioning.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
We have a lineup of questions, so you had better be fast, not too long. They should be brief presentations, as you know.
I'll turn the floor over to Mr. Di Benedetto.
Tony Di Benedetto Chief Executive Officer, Drone Delivery Canada
Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, members of Parliament, distinguished guests, my name is Tony Di Benedetto. I am the CEO of Drone Delivery Canada.
Let me begin by thanking all of you for the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. We really are at the cusp of an industry that holds out so much promise. I am encouraged that the government is determined to hear from industry experts as it works to ensure that it gets things right when it comes to regulating unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.
Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear or read something about drones. Sometimes it’s a story that reminds us of why it is so important to make sure we chart a responsible path forward that ensures the safety and security for all of us. In this case it was the news of a Porter flight’s encounter with an object that may have been a drone about 50 kilometres out from Billy Bishop Airport.
Then there are stories that remind of us of the huge potential this technology holds out, like last week’s story on the CBC that looked at how a drone outfitted with defibrillators could cut response times and increase survival rates during a heart attack. To put that into perspective, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada estimates that approximately 40,000 Canadians suffer cardiac arrest each year. When the heart stops beating, the chance of survival drops 7% to 10% for every minute a defibrillator doesn't deliver a life-saving electrical shock to restart the heart.
A University of Toronto computer science engineer has determined that strategically placed drones carrying defibrillators could beat ambulances to the scene by many minutes, and in some cases cut response times in half, helping many people survive. That’s just one application.
The sky is literally the limit when it comes to the various applications this technology holds out, everything from drones for agricultural use, mapping, exploration, disaster recovery, urban planning, security services, architecture, and engineering, not to mention the extent to which this technology will be a game-changer when it comes to just-in-time delivery and the management of logistics around supply chains.
As the technology and innovation advances, the list goes on and on. That’s what excites us at Drone Delivery Canada.
Since 2014, we have been working with government and municipalities to explore the potential of drones in delivering a robust logistics platform. We’re proud to say we were the first to market, and in a short time we have assembled some of the leading minds in this country, leading researchers and professors in aerospace studies, to develop a commercial logistics platform that can meet government and commercial needs in rural and remote parts of this country. For example, we’re working with the City of Vaughan, the first city in Canada to undertake a pilot program. Together we’re looking at how drones can provide these logistics services to the city.
We are also excited about the potential this technology holds out for Canada’s northern communities. We are busy at work on a pilot project that is looking at these communities, and seeing how drones can provide a safe and reliable way to deliver much needed services like just-in-time medicines and medical supplies.
We’re also looking at opportunities to partner with Canada’s indigenous communities and employ their youth. Like a number of countries around the world, we, too, are looking at how Drone Delivery Canada can support Canada Post, in this case, around mail service in northern communities, helping to reduce costs, adding efficiencies, and taking greenhouse gas-emitting trucks off the road.
All of us in this room can see the potential. The challenge is in making sure that this industry rolls out in a way that taps into this great potential, while at the same time ensuring it is done in a way that protects all of us, while at the same time addressing the legal and ethical issues.
As industry leaders, we want to continue to be part of that process working alongside government to make sure that Canada is seen as a leader when it comes to this policy development around new and emerging technologies.
The future is here. Right now government policies and regulations are lagging behind the progress that is being made by industry. The global drone market continues to attract investments, and efforts to advance this technology are being made in leaps and bounds.
Let’s join forces and work together. We can’t continue to operate in a regulatory, legal and ethical vacuum. The possibilities are unlimited, but like all potential, it needs to be harnessed and regulated in a way that it is in the best interests of all us.
Thank you again for your time. I look forward to being part of the policies that will be a model for the rest of the world.
Kerry Moher Vice-President, Business Development, Fresh Air Educators
Thank you, Madam Chair, and committee members for the opportunity to appear today.
As a proud Canadian and a small business owner, I'm very excited about the potential for unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, both in Canada and globally. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and insights on how Canadians can benefit from this technology and harness its potential for both social and economic benefit.
In a world with too many industry-specific acronyms, I'm going to use “drone” in place of “UAV” for the purpose of today's discussion.
How do we increase the confidence of the Canadian public in the safety and viability of drone operation? I ask this question because I believe we cannot realize the economic potential of drone operation if the Canadian public doesn't become more comfortable with drones, or more specifically with drone operators and their credentials.
For the past 15 years, Fresh Air Educators, a company with global headquarters in Ottawa, has been at the forefront of online education and innovation in the outdoor recreation field. Our leadership began in power boat safety courses through a very successful partnership with Transport Canada to provide the federal pleasure craft operator card program, and with the United States Coast Guard to deliver the state specific boater education card programs, both commonly referred to as a boat licence.
Building on that leadership, Fresh Air Educators has worked to bring innovations from online boating education to other outdoor activities, such as hunting and firearms, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and sailing. Establishing partnerships with dozens of federal, provincial, and state agencies to make effective, engaging online education available to their residents, Fresh Air Educators has certified more than two million outdoor enthusiasts through our 125 online courses delivered on behalf of more than 50 government agencies in Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Most recently, through our involvement with the Small UAV Coalition in Washington, D.C., we have been working with experts in the field of drones to leverage online training as a key tool for providing safety and ethics training to the millions of new recreational and commercial drone operators in North America.
It's difficult to get definitive sales data for this industry in Canada to quantify the opportunity. However, by comparison, the U.S. is expected to sell more than two million drones in 2016, the fourth year in a row in which sales have doubled. Sales are expected to reach 10 million drones by 2020, granted commercial drones are expected to provide much of that additional growth.
Major global drone manufacturers have confided that Canada is a very significant market. Given our geography, it should surprise no one in this room that drone ownership in Canada is growing at a similar rate. We need to capitalize on the economic opportunity that drones provide both to Canadian citizens and to small businesses. We must ensure that certification and training is done properly to ensure safe and ethical operation while increasing public confidence in drones.
Canada was once viewed as perhaps the most drone forward country in the world, and had a huge head start on many countries in terms of the legal ability to operate drones for commercial purposes. As such, Canadian companies have been able to grow their businesses nationally and to export their skills and expertise globally.
Moreover, Canada has been able to attract significant U.S. investment for drone testing and training, but that head start has been completely wiped out in the last several months. The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States enacted new streamlined drone regulations in 2016 that have paved the way for commercial drone operation in the United States. Canada must respond if we hope to remain relevant in this growing, international industry.
Luckily, Transport Canada has some thoughtful, well-researched updates to the current drone regulations. These updated regulations include three critical elements, namely, registration, education, and certification. Registration provides accountability, but let's not stop there. Let's ensure that registration leads to education. After you register your drone, we'll teach you how to operate it safely, legally, and ethically. Moreover, let's work with commercial operators to ensure that they have the proper training needed to secure the necessary legal certification and requisite skills to succeed in their field.
These new drone regulations present a tremendous opportunity for Canada to regain a position of leadership on this issue on a global scale. Allow me to specifically address four key ingredients in the proposed regulations where we believe the details matter most.
First is registration. We will increase compliance if we can protect the registrant's personal information and avoid unnecessary fees.
Second is interactive, engaging education for all operators. Most high-profile drone incidents are simply caused by a lack of education and information for safety and regulatory requirements. There is no malice. It is pure ignorance. Let's also give all operators a strong ethical foundation so they can be proper stewards for drone technology. This is also the group that will become future commercial operators. Let's pave that path.
Third is in-person testing. While the FAA's new part 107 rule is much more streamlined than the previous 333 exemption process, it is needlessly cumbersome for commercial operators to travel to one of 700 testing centres to take a knowledge test that can easily be administered online. Moreover, that in-person test costs $150, whereas online testing can be much more affordable.
Fourth is curriculum. It is very easy for this kind of curriculum to include aeronautical knowledge that is more appropriate for airline pilots than drone pilots. Let's ensure the curriculum and testing is specific to the activity, with topics and language that are relevant to the audience. Our 15-year track record with Transport Canada's office of boating safety has Fresh Air Educators well positioned to provide Canadians the online training and certification needed to ensure public confidence in drones.
I thank you for your time. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
Now Mr. Moffatt from the UAS Centre of Excellence.
Welcome.
Marc Moffatt Director General, UAS Centre of Excellence
Good morning, and thank you very much, Madam Chair and committee members. You should have my notes in a little package in front of you as to what the UAS CE is all about, but I'll present it here as well.
I'm pleased to present this morning and I would like to thank you very much for this opportunity. My name is Marc Moffat. I'm the director general of the UAS CE, located in Alma, Quebec, and co-located with 3 Wing Bagotville. I've also had the pleasure of serving with the military for 20 years in the air force.
First off, let me provide a few words on our organization and what we have accomplished to date in support of the Canadian UAS community. Established in 2011, the UAS CE, or Centre d'excellence sur les drones, has been committed to support of the UAS community and its development. The site has been supported by the City of Alma and its council.
The UAS CE is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop a centre of expertise, services in innovation and design, applications, and UAS operation, but most specifically to support the safe integration of UAS in our Canadian airspace.
The City of Alma has the humble pretension to state that the UAS CE test site was established even before the Federal Aviation Administration created the six American sites.
The UAS CE has more recently been highlighted in the updated Quebec aerospace strategy, 2016-26. The Quebec government has agreed to invest in two specific areas. First, the UAS CE will be heading the establishment of a UAV cluster that will be mandated to provide some strategic orientation to the Quebec aerospace sector. Second, the government has agreed to invest $800,000 in infrastructure for the establishment of a pre-qualification and training site. This pre-qualification test site represents a potential investment of $2.5 million. It could then become one of its kind in North America.
Concerning operations, infrastructure, and airspace, the UAS CE's location and co-operation with 3 Wing Bagotville has made it possible to conduct, for example, medium altitude, long endurance, or MALE, UAS operations in segregated and non-segregated airspace. We have supported the operation of a 45-foot wingspan UAV, flying more than 160 kilometres from the Alma airport at altitudes over 15,000 feet.
More recently, Transport Canada has approved the establishment of eight areas of class F restricted airspace to conduct UAV operations. Most specifically, these zones are critical to the beyond visual line of sight operations. These operations represent the next critical step for UAS development in Canada.
The UAS CE is also the co-founder of the International Consortium of Aeronautical Test Sites, or ICATS. The first international organization of its kind, the consortium supports the industry by enabling the development and testing of UAVs. ICATS was created to share information between the members on operational safety, flight regulations, and when allowed to do so, actual operational experience.
The UAS CE and its approximately 20 members, which are from universities and colleges and private industry, have developed very specific and exclusive expertise. The centre has participated in multiple round table discussions, conferences, and other events related to the sector and would like to offer the following observations.
On regulation development, the proposed regulations for the UAS under 25 kilograms within line of sight profile appear to provide the appropriate framework and have been supported by the community at large. However, the timelines have continued to slip to the right and have, in my opinion, resulted in numerous illegal operations, since the SFOC process has been too slow to cope with the demand. I'm fairly certain that the community will agree on that point.
On recognition of and support for a national test site, we need hands-on participation and involvement from Transport Canada. For your information, so far, there have been two test sites established in Canada: one in Foremost, Alberta—I'm not too sure if they've been invited to speak—and ourselves. We have received Transport Canada's support in the establishment of restricted airspace, and we believe it has strong interest in participating in the development and the operation of BVLOS operations. However, to date, we have been treated as any other operators.
Some provinces, such as Alberta and Quebec, have committed time and money to present strategic orientation. There is an urgent requirement or need to provide some strategic guidance at the federal level as well. I believe it would have a positive influence on the overall development of regulations.
As for standardization across all regions, as I stated, although regulations are being adapted to provide a safe framework, there is a wide gap between regions when it comes to its application. The SFOC application process is different across all regions and this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
On awareness, Transport Canada appears to have some concern with respect to the number of incidents related to UAS. However, I strongly believe that this increased number of statistics is driven by a lack of knowledge from recreational users. I think we've talked about that in the previous segment.
In conclusion, I'd like to thank you very much for this opportunity. I'm looking forward to answering any questions you might have, in French as well.
Liberal
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Excellent. Thank you very much.
I'm thrilled that you're here. I find this fascinating. The technology's cool, and having the drone in the backdrop of my line of sight today adds to the experience.
I'm going to focus primarily on the economic benefits of developing the industry. I've had the pleasure of meeting with Drone Delivery Canada previously.
First, Mr. Moher, you mentioned that we lost the lead that we had in the past few months because of the regulatory scheme introduced in the U.S. Is the best and quickest thing we can do to move quickly to harmonize the regulatory scheme in Canada to match what's going on south of the border?
Vice-President, Business Development, Fresh Air Educators
I think we'll always want to respect reciprocity, certainly with the commercial operator certification process, but we could also streamline it. There are opportunities to learn from what the FAA has done and do it better. Specifically, to that end, the FAA looked long and hard at whether or not they would do these knowledge tests in person or online. They just didn't have a track record of ever having done this type of training online, whereas Transport Canada has been doing it for years.
Certainly, we would want to harmonize and we would love to have reciprocity. A drone operator certificate in Canada or the U.S. would ideally travel, but there are ways we could do it better.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
In the previous panel we heard some witnesses talk about potential government investments. Specifically, they referred to tax credits to implement safety devices.
Mr. Moffatt, you described some of the investments made in Quebec. Are there specific government investments that you think we can recommend that would help foster innovation so that we can become the world leader once again?
Director General, UAS Centre of Excellence
Concerning initiatives, I talked about the strategy in Quebec and I talked about it also in Alberta. There's a move in both of these provinces and other provinces as well. The intent behind this strategy or this cluster that the premier has put forward is to regroup the Quebec community and get the community to talk in unison to figure out where we're going from a strategic or investment or development perspective. That's the intent for now.
Our test site has been working with universities and private industry as well on integrating the airspace. To be honest, it's brand new in Quebec, as far as looking forward to strategies is concerned, so there hasn't been any move with respect to developing any systems to date.
I've worked very closely with Aéro Montréal. They have declined the invitation—they weren't quite prepared—but I'm the voice for Aéro Montréal as well, so I'm fairly well connected with the community. If there were a move afoot, I'm pretty certain I'd be aware of it.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
Turning to the folks who are using this in interesting applications right now, I'd like to hear from both of you your thoughts on whether there are specific investments we can be making to foster innovation in the industry and, perhaps more importantly, whether there are existing barriers to new applications.
Just by way of background, one of the opportunities I see is that a researcher at St. Francis Xavier University in my home community has developed a fairly small technology to detect gas leaks in energy infrastructure. I know that the payload on the drone sitting behind you can handle this kind of technology. I see no reason that we can't strap one onto the bottom of it and capture all the gas leaks across every piece of pipeline infrastructure in Canada.
There are probably thousands more applications that I've never thought of. Are there barriers that exist now that we could eliminate to expand the applications that could be used with UAVs?
Chief Executive Officer, Drone Delivery Canada
The barrier we're facing today is simply the regulatory process. We've partnered with the universities, the leading minds in Canada for UAV research—the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. At Waterloo, for example, they have been tagging icebergs for the government since 2012 utilizing drones. We saw this and said that we should harness this academic knowledge and bring it to fruition.
The technology exists, and the reality is that when you throw money at it, things happen very quickly. We've taken the approach of building on a managed-service platform. I'm sitting here listening to all the concerns about the fail-safes and the regulations. We've built a platform that adheres to all this. We are the operator. We assume the liability. We build our platform with safety in mind.
For us the biggest hurdle is simply regulations. If there's a way that the government can invest capital, I think it is just simply to speed it up and to just let the commercial applications come to light. It's an amazing industry.
Liberal
Sean Fraser Liberal Central Nova, NS
That's great.
I'll go back to Mr. Moher. I have a little less than a minute to finish, and I want to hit on the licensing and certification process.
I think when we're dealing with large-scale commercial operations, we'd probably want somebody who can demonstrate hands-on experience. What's the most efficient way to ensure that we're getting these drones safely into the hands of people who are going to use them? Do they conduct this online test that you referred to at point of sale? Do they have to show they've obtained a licence before they purchase it?