Moose Cree First Nation, a community set on an island in remote Northern Ontario, will soon be shipping commercial goods via drone.
The First Nation community and Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) announced the commercial program on Wednesday, October 4th.
DDC notes that it’s working with federal regulators and community stakeholders in its efforts to begin test flights within the Moose Cree area, located 20km south of James Bay.
First, the plan is to start test flights between the mainland and island of Moose Factory, then DDC plans to begin delivering food, medical supplies, general goods and mail.
The project is a first for Drone Delivery Canada.
“We are very pleased to begin roll out of our drone delivery solution for the Moose Cree First Nation community,” said Tony Di Benedetto, CEO of Drone Delivery Canada in a press statement.
“Drones provide immediate capacity building and provide an alternative to traditional infrastructure where none presently exist.”
Meanwhile, Patricia Faries, chief of Moose Cree First Nation, emphasized the potential benefits of using a tech innovation like drones to ship goods between neighbouring remote communities, which is generally an expensive process.
“We are excited to see the formation of this initiative, from pilot testing to potential commercialization and possibly building a business model,” said Faries in her statement.
“This technology is new, and we hope also to help our neighboring communities address the high costs associated with the delivery of goods to their communities.”
