Evidence of meeting #23 for Veterans Affairs in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was businesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Alana Hirtle Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Okay. Thank you very much for that.
Let's talk a little bit about those training programs then, please. Can you describe what the training programs typically cover and how they prepare participants for commercial opportunities?
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Instructor and Flight Reviewer, Veterans Elite Drone Training Services Inc.
The very first level of certification for drone operations is called “basic”, and that is for someone who wants to get a drone to play with more for fun, etc. There's a minimum age limit of 14 for that, I believe, but you're very limited as to where you can actually operate them.
The one area that must be negotiated if you are conducting a drone operation is if the area is considered restricted, maybe due to a police operation, or if it's controlled airspace, where you could impact air operations. In order to function in those zones, you must have at least an advanced limit certification. An advanced limit certification allows you to function in controlled airspace. If the aircraft meets the criteria, it can be over people. Transport Canada has very strict guidelines on how these are to be operated. They're also limited to what's called “visual line of sight”, or VLOS.
With the increasing requirement to operate at an extended range with drones, they have recently introduced what's called the level 1 complex rating. That permits you, under given conditions, if they're all approved by Transport Canada, to run at what's known as “beyond visual line of sight”. That's where you are remotely operating a drone beyond your line of sight at a point that it's so far away you can't see it and you're relying entirely on the operating system, the machine's camera and its GPS data to let you know exactly where it is and what it is doing.
Those last two—advanced and level 1—are the ones that are required if you wish to operate as a commercial operator.
Liberal
Alana Hirtle Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Wow, I feel like I got all of that. That was amazing. Thank you.
Are those the certifications they will receive from your training?
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Instructor and Flight Reviewer, Veterans Elite Drone Training Services Inc.
Yes.
Liberal
Alana Hirtle Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Okay, that's great.
Have you observed strengths that veterans bring to the RPAS training and the broader drone industry? Can you talk about those a little bit?
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Instructor and Flight Reviewer, Veterans Elite Drone Training Services Inc.
Actually, those strengths have also been mentioned by the two other witnesses here, including the fact that for members of the forces training is inherent throughout their careers. Your ability to focus, self-discipline, the teamwork aspect, all of those things combine into that motivation to get the job done and do it well. Assimilating vast amounts of information in very short periods of time and being able to not just regurgitate it but apply it and rationalize with it are skill sets that contribute to making someone an effective operator.
There is the technical aspect of it, as well. Most of the individuals who come into drone training usually have some degree of technical training from the military.
Liberal
Alana Hirtle Liberal Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Okay, I have 30 seconds.
Quickly, are there practical adjustments or alternatives that you believe could support both VAC's goals and veterans seeking advanced training?
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Instructor and Flight Reviewer, Veterans Elite Drone Training Services Inc.
In terms of alternatives, right now drone schools are being developed because these types of programs are not available through regular educational institutions, such as community colleges, or if they are, they are just beginning to start up. It is independent operations that have been focusing on the nitty-gritty of this industry.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marie-France Lalonde
Thank you very much, Mr. Merrill.
Ms. Gaudreau, you have the floor for six minutes.
For those on the call who aren't francophone, Madame Gaudreau will address you in French, so make sure you have the right button on your system pressed so you can hear her properly.
Ms. Gaudreau, you have the floor.
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Mr. Brulotte, we can see the exceptional quality of your work in terms of structure and implementation. You've had great success in your business, which you've sold.
In a few words, what are the four elements we're talking about? Can you briefly define them?
Are there some that are more important than others?
As an Individual
There are four things that helped me develop a national business. First is an unwavering ambition. In everything I did, whether in the military, the military college, the regiment or in business, I always tried to push myself and do all I could.
Second is a high capacity to withstand and manage stress. I understood how to compartmentalize different elements during crises to make sure we still had a plan to keep moving forward.
Third is the technical knowledge I acquired in accounting, finance, human resources management, statistics and business analysis, among others. I was lucky. When I left the Canadian Armed Forces, I was doing a master's in business administration, or MBA, and that knowledge helped me a lot.
Fourth is luck. I say that in all honesty. From time to time, you have to be in the right place at the right time.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
I understand you already had that ambition before joining the forces. I'm trying to draw a link with the potential cultural shock for those who may not have thought about becoming an entrepreneur. There are some similarities. I am the co-owner of two franchised businesses. There's something we have within us right from the beginning.
How can that be a deterrent or, to the contrary, a driver?
As an Individual
People ask me why I went into business. The truth is I was desperate. I had nothing else to fall back on.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
You say you were desperate. Can you clarify that?
As an Individual
I left the forces to become chief of staff for a federal minister. I had been aide-de-camp for the Governor General, and then I joined the regiment. In 1993, Ms. Campbell became prime minister. I left the regiment to become chief of staff, and six months later, what I thought might be a career turned into a summer job.
As an Individual
No one was going to hire me in Ottawa, because I was a Conservative, but the city was different. I started making 100 calls a day from my basement. I had two suits: a grey suit and a blue suit. On Monday, I'd wear my blue suit. On Tuesday, I'd wear my grey suit. On Wednesdays, I'd wear the grey jacket with the blue pants, and so on. I was going door-to-door.
At that time, there was the Yellow Pages for the government. I'd start at the letter a and make calls. After 100 calls, I'd go into the city, find free parking, since I had no money, and go door-to-door. I did that for three years. In my first year, I signed $2 million worth in contracts. I had ambition, and I was desperate.
Bloc
Marie-Hélène Gaudreau Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
You're certainly not the only one in the forces to have ambition, discipline and leadership, and you have to accept hierarchy. There are a lot of links to be made with entrepreneurship, such as the ability to face adversity and turn on a dime. Obviously, it's a bit like that in politics as well.
How is it that some people can't have access to procurement, capital, training and so on, when all we want to do is honour them and support them?
Since you're familiar with politics, why do you think these links aren't recognized, and why are we having trouble providing veterans with what would enable them to live with the dignity they deserve?
As an Individual
For the last few years, the narrative has been that veterans are broken, that they all have post-traumatic stress disorder, that they have mental health issues, and so on.
We were comparing earlier what we have in Canada to what is offered in the U.S. Well, you should know that the national and political narrative is completely different there. Go to the Government of Canada's website. All you see are programs for broken and injured vets. There's nothing about their incredible potential. That's what we should do.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marie-France Lalonde
I totally agree, Mr. Brulotte. I'm sorry to interrupt.
Thank you very much.
We're now in the second round.
Mr. Viersen, you have five minutes.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to our witnesses.
Mr. Brulotte, I think we'll carry on there. That was precisely where I was hoping to go as well.
Do you have a recommendation on how to turn that around? I think the G.I. bill in the United States has been effective. Are you suggesting something like that?
As an Individual
I want to choose my words carefully. The narrative we have in terms of our relationship with veterans in Canada has always been one of compassion and thankfulness. That is proper, and it is one of the elements we should be pursuing. It's easy to go down this road of compassion, but when we continue to go down that road, we tend to emphasize things we want to be compassionate about. That is helping veterans who are broken, who are wounded or who have PTSD, and of course that is something that has to be done.
However, what's happened as well is that it has overshadowed.... It's the narrative that's constantly pursued, instead of saying, “Oh, my God, look at this workforce of leaders who have tenacity, perseverance and ambition and who've served in very difficult circumstances.” If they can act under fire, they can probably take it when they're trying to do a sales call and need to get out there and grow some business.
We've gone away from that. We do not have that anywhere. If you scrub the web, you won't find it. We have to get back to that. What we have to get into is that narrative.
Conservative
Arnold Viersen Conservative Peace River—Westlock, AB
Mr. Merrill, you talked about the training for drone operators. I assume that the military has drone operators. Could you correct me on that? If that's the case, does that certification transfer across the military-civilian line?
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Instructor and Flight Reviewer, Veterans Elite Drone Training Services Inc.
Not to my knowledge.... In all honesty, I'm not sure what we actually have for drones in the Canadian military right now. You do hear about drones being used for military operations currently between Ukraine and Russia. Any device can be weaponized. In the case of drones, in the United States or the ones they operate in Europe that can be controlled from the U.S. continent, those individuals undergo.... It's an entirely different realm of training, because you're talking about a very different realm of control systems for them.
As far as I know, there is no available certification in the military that would cross over to a Transport Canada drone operator compliance level.