Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I'm David Miller and the president over World Wildlife Fund-Canada. I'm joined by Paul Crowley, who is our vice-president, Arctic.
I'll give a couple of introductory remarks, and then Paul will give the substance of our presentation today.
For nearly 50 years, WWF-Canada has worked to protect nature here and internationally. We are Canada's largest international conservation organization. We have offices in Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, St. John's, and with relevance today, Iqaluit and Inuvik, and we have the active support of more than 150,000 Canadians.
We work in places that are unique and ecologically important so that nature, wildlife, habitat, and people thrive together.
We do this by working with communities, with industry, with academia and government, drawing on science, and by doing so we focus our efforts in Canada on increasing marine protection, on habitat-friendly renewable energy, on freshwater health, sustainable fisheries, and wildlife habitat conservation.
Today we'll share recommendations that we think are bold and whose time has come, especially considering that the changing climate is altering the Arctic environment faster than any other on the planet and putting species and people at risk.
Mr. Crowley will tell you about the dated practice of insisting on mineral and energy resource assessments before an area can be considered for protection. You'll hear how the Canadian Petroleum Resources Act puts oil and gas ahead of all other concerns in the Canadian Arctic and why it's time that stopped, and you'll learn about a respectful approach to marine protected areas that puts Inuit at the helm.
We will offer you concrete suggestions for conservation and sustainable development in this iconic but rapidly changing Canada environment.
On behalf of World Wildlife Fund-Canada, I say how heartened we are to see the work of the committee, and we're happy to support it in any way we can.
I'd now like to turn the podium over to Mr. Crowley.