Drone Delivery Canada deploys drones to serve Georgina Island First Nation

Drone Delivery Canada Corp (DDC) has inked a commercial agreement with the Georgina Island First Nation (GIFN) to deploy DDC's patented drone delivery solution to provide service to the GIFN community in Ontario.

According to the terms of the agreement, DDC will enable a defined two-way delivery flight route from/to GIFN mainland to/from Georgina Island utilizing the Sparrow drone and its DroneSpotTM takeoff and landing zones as well as additional drone flight infrastructure as required. All operations will be conducted in accordance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations and Transport Canada flight authorizations. Flights will be remotely monitored by DDC from its Operations Control Centre located in Vaughan, Ontario. DDC will commence deployment of site infrastructure shortly and expects to begin providing drone delivery services under the Agreement in Q3 of 2020.

GIFN will use DDC's Sparrow drone solution to limit person-to-person contact on its island ferry service by transporting COVID-19 related cargo such as personal protection equipment (PPE), hygiene kits, test kits, test swabs, etc.

The agreement, which is for a period of six months, provides for the payment of an up-front, fixed-fee for managed services for the project.

GIFN has been approved for funding from the Government of Canada, through Indigenous Services Canada, for this drone project for the delivery of medical supplies to, and samples from, the community via drone. Indigenous Services Canada is looking at this project as a pilot to provide a “Proof of Concept” for future consideration of the use of drone delivery as an effective means to limit person-to-person contact during the pandemic while maintaining the provision of COVID-related medical supplies.

“As a leader in the industry, we are pleased to announce Georgina Island First Nation as a drone logistics customer. The Community is expected to benefit from our drone delivery solution during the Covid -19 pandemic by limiting person-to-person contact between the mainland and Georgina Island, while keeping their medical supply chain open. This is yet another example showing our drone delivery solution is ideally suited for this type of application and we look forward to helping the community,” said Michael Zahra, president and CEO of DDC.

“We are pleased to be working with Drone Delivery Canada, Air Canada and the Pontiac Group on this project to maintain our supply chain for Covid-19 medical supplies while limiting person-to-person contact during the current pandemic situation. Drone delivery is an innovative solution and we look forward to seeing the benefits for our community. We are thankful to Indigenous Services Canada for funding this project,” said Councilor William McCue of the Georgina Island First Nation.