In responding to the avian flu outbreak of 2009, a Canadian government body (Public Health Network H1N1 Task Force) published the following working definitions.
Remote: describes a geographical area where a community is located over 350 km from the nearest service centre having year-round road access.
Isolated: describes a geographical area that has scheduled flights and good telephone services; however, it is without year-round road access.
Isolated posts are defined by the Treasury Board of Canada as communities that face "unique challenges" related to small populations, harsh climates, and/or limited access by commercial transportation or all-weather roads.
Many of these posts are "fly-in only"; the police force has its own RCMP Air Services, which does everything from ferry prisoners to court to bring in new computers to offices.