Jason Kenney, the Premiere of Alberta recently visited Foremost UAS Range and made some valuable insights on a great economic initiative for this cutting-edge technology which is growing fast.

Below is details of the interview Kenney had with Doug Hanna, manager of the Foremost Range:

Kenney: This is an amazing initiative for local economic development down here, a vision that was started about a decade ago, Doug why don’t you tell us what this is all about.

Hanna: Well, it’s about helping companies to be able to take their businesses to the next level and most of those come in smaller sizes, and they’re operating in an environment where they have to satisfy transport Canada regulations.

Kenney: and get back up the steps, aware of how big UAV industry is becoming what are the kinds of applications How significant is it as an industry what you know. And how is Alberta playing enrollees in its development.

Kenney: amazing new technologies, almost unlimited applications for these kinds of devices so what you’re really doing here is letting companies that are developing new technologies, a test that here, right, and you keep that data, you’re trying to help build transport Canada’s confidence to kind of expand regulatory space for using UA because that’s part of what you’re doing it.

Hanna: Yeah, exactly, we are we’re generating safety case data to help Transport Canada create regulations, and they need regulations around beyond visual line of sight operations, the pipeline inspection.

Kenney: And I think you mentioned that it’s one only three or four AV ranges in all of North America, which has basically no height restriction or it’s a very large vertical space that could operate within, like, like most of North America.

Hanna: Well it’s the fastest growing part of the aerospace sector, as an industry, we have roughly 30,000 manned aircraft registered in Canada, about 300,000 drones.

Kenney: I think this is a very exciting story because it’s about economic diversification, and division of a small farming village in a pretty dry corner of the province, thank gosh they’re getting some rain down here this year! But overall taking the lead on cutting edge new technology, there’s some more infrastructure things we need to be doing in terms of high-speed internet, and etc. Also clearing out some of the regulatory issues with the federal government but we want to do what can help you guys grow and succeed in a really cutting-edge area of innovation, tech to diversify Alberta’s economy so congratulations to you and the team with the town of Foremost for what they’re doing here.