Perfect. Thank you so much.
For those who don't know me, I'm an indigenous woman from Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut. I'm involved in the high-tech and innovation sectors of telecommunication, digital, transportation and energy. I am the chief operating officer of CanArctic Inuit Networks. The goal is to build 3,000 kilometres of marine fibre optic cable into Canada’s Arctic and interconnect with as many existing or proposed subsea and terrestrial fibre networks. We need redundancy. Of course, I understand and appreciate how interconnected fibre is with satellites.
I'm also the CEO of SednaLink Marine Systems. The goal is to put sensors on certain strategic elements of the subsea fibre optic, effectively allowing sensors to monitor and obtain the necessary marine data with respect to climate change but also with respect to knowing what is in our marine environment, whether that is submarines or unmanned underwater systems.
I'm also the northern director of Arctic360, Canada's only Arctic think tank.
Lastly—I wear many hats, as many northerners do—I am a special adviser to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and an indigenous member on the nuclear energy leadership table. Our goal is to assist and assess the potential micro and small modular reactors that can provide a full energy solution in rural, remote and northern parts of Canada. Almost all major infrastructure, including fibre optic cables to ground stations, to data centres and to over-the-horizon radar systems, requires energy. We need it to be stable, reliable, abundant, affordable and ideally, of course, clean.
I forgot to say that I am also a director of the Canadian Arctic Innovation Association. We published a study on the viability of airships for civilian and commercial purposes that supplements the airships study that was done by DND. Being able to move large items into Canada's Arctic year-round is a truly transformative initiative that would support not only our communities but also the military.
We know that Canada's Arctic requires investments. We need the very best long-term technological solutions that support not only our communities but also our national security objectives—not just now, but also for the next 50 years. A lot of my involvement and interest in these spaces was due in part to my being mayor of Iqaluit for two terms, president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities and a member of the Arctic Mayors’ Forum, which had membership from all across the Arctic nations except for Russia.
In these various areas and capacities, the discussions have often centred on what is essential for critical infrastructure for our communities in our regions, which, as I said earlier, of course have been focused around transportation, such as expanding existing runways or seeing those runways paved so that we can actually see more large or specialized aircraft land in those communities, increase the size of the airplanes for food delivery or allow for air force planes to land.
We know that in the Arctic there are many intersectionalities and the necessity for integration. However, these different layers of government and various government departments often create silos, and by extension disconnections and divisions. What I have learned is that at the top, infrastructure priorities and requirements of our northern communities also nicely align with what the military want and need, but despite these, fragmentations and many non-strategic infrastructure investments that have been made in Canada's Arctic unfortunately continue on.
While we know that we're hearing the Government of Canada speak about the necessity of dual-purpose and multi-purpose investments, the reality is that almost none of our government departments know how to put this in practice. In fact, when government departments are pitched with true dual-purpose infrastructure, most will state that their departments have no role or responsibility. I could give you numerous examples, but I'm mindful of the time.
In closing, we recognize how important industry is in being part of the solution as are, as you also heard, universities, defence, our northern communities, our northern leaders and our indigenous leaders.
The challenge is how we ensure that, as we move forward in determining what strategic investments the Arctic needs, we invest in the right ones with the best outcomes that support not only our local security at the community level and our economic development aspirations but also our big national security objectives.
Thank you.