Ontario firm gets federal OK for drone delivery
Commercial drone delivery service is a step closer to coming to Canada after the federal government issued a compliance certificate to Drone Delivery Canada Corp. last week.
The Vaughan,Ont.,-based company said it received a Compliant UAV Operator Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) last week, a Transport Canada designation that allows drones to fly beyond “line of sight” operations.
“With that, our next path is to file flight paths, potentially choose where we can fly to and from — and essentially start up a pilot program and demonstrate how this technology is an infrastructure solution for communities,” Drone Delivery Canada’s chief executive officer Tony Di Benedetto said in an interview.
The compliant status is “a major step” to bringing the company’s technology towards becoming a commercialized service.
“Three or four years ago, when we talked about this idea of using drones to deliver goods, people thought we were absolutely insane,” Di Benedetto said.
“But we don’t see it as being a farstretch endeavour. We’re very fortunate that we have a supportive federal government regulator who sees technology and innovation as a key driving force in Canada. In my opinion, Canada is leading in this technology right now.”
The Toronto-based company, which debuted on the TSX Venture Exchange in December, has set its sight on commercializing drone for delivery service that could be used by retailers and government agencies. The company’s stock has surged 114 per cent in 2018.
The operator’s certificate, Di Benedetto said, allows the company to launch commercial pilot programs in remote communities in northern Ontario, specifically Moose Factory and Moosonee. Di Benedetto is hoping the drone technology can solve an infrastructure issue facing many isolated and rural areas in Canada’s north.
Drone Delivery Canada was initially given Transport Canada approval to test its drone delivery technology in Moose Factory and Moosonee in November. The company completed a series of flights up to 2.12 kilometres, which it said showed positive results.
It is now hoping to ship various goods, including mail, food, medical supplies and general goods, to Moose Cree First Nation, which is accessible by boat in the summer and ice road in the winter.
Drone Delivery Canada said it will continue working with Transport Canada as it pushes ahead with its pilot project in Moose Factory and Moosonee.
But it’s not the only company looking at commercializing drones for delivery service. Amazon is in the midst of testing Prime Air, a delivery system it says is designed to deliver packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using drones. The company completed its first Prime Air delivery in December of 2016 in the United Kingdom.