An Indigenous company that’s in the business of producing remotely-piloted, zero-emission light cargo aircraft to ship goods to rural and remote communities is pitching a partnership with a First Nation on Lake Huron’s north shore that would see the small community become a northern logistics hub for its operations.
“The idea right now is to do a pilot project, demonstrate ourselves to the community — and as long as the community is continuing behind us, we’ll proceed,” said Dudek. “But obviously we’re there to serve the community and be guided by them, and that’s the defining characteristic of our engagement.” Now, the company wants to expand its footprint by making Mississauga First Nation — a community approximately 140 kilometres east of Sault Ste. Marie with 378 people living on reserve — its base of operations in the north.
“When you take the pilot and the fuel out of the equation, obviously as you can imagine it drives down the costs,” he said. “But the silver lining on that too is that we’re zero emissions, so it’s a great product for the future of Canada’s economy where we really need to transition to the low-carbon economy.”