Iqaluit, Goose Bay, N.L., and Thunder Bay, Ont., are the destination for thousands of toys that will be delivered to children in remote northern communities for the coming holidays.
Cpl. Rob Buller says the RCMP has been running the Toys for the North Christmas campaign for 11 years.
“About 4,000 children will benefit from the Toys for the North initiative. There’s been over $185,000 in toys donated by the Canadian toy manufacturers,” said Buller, referring to this year’s donations alone.
During the campaign’s 11-year span, a critical partner in getting the toys north has been CFB Trenton.
In the coming days, a flight will deliver toys to Iqaluit and Goose Bay with a second flight taking toys to Thunder Bay.
CFB Trenton’s Base Commander Col. Ryan Deming says the flights also provide training for flight crews.
“We have to exercise that reach across the entirety of Canada and that includes the north. This gives our crews the opportunity to continue to be more familiar and proficient with flying arctic operations,” Deming said.
Following the deliveries by the RCAF, the RCMP works with local community partners to distribute the toys.
“(In) Thunder Bay, for instance, North-Star Air — they’re going to be taking these toys into the communities up there and distributing them,” Buller said.
“When they reach Iqaluit we have coordinators there with the RCMP who are going to wrap all the toys and then they are going to bring them to the outlying communities, and the same for Goose Bay.”
The flights delivering the toys are expected to leave CFB Trenton this weekend.
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