Thank you, and thank you to both organizations for your presentations.
I wanted to, first of all, ask a question to the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.
I'm completely aware of the benefits of economic and resource development projects, the benefits they can bring into areas, including where I live in the Northwest Territories. I got my start working with a pipeline company many years ago, when they were building the Norman Wells pipeline. It created a lot of opportunity for me and it allowed for a lot of employment, a lot of business development, and a lot of people to make a good living for several years.
There's also the benefit that we see in the north with companies, such as mining companies, that are exploring alternate energy and successfully developing projects like windmills and solar. Some of these practices are being transferred into the communities, which is really good to see. We all know that infrastructure is something that communities can benefit from, and this is a real challenge for us in the north. There's actually a barrier because of the lack of infrastructure. We're in a remote area, we're in a high-cost area, we have undeveloped infrastructure, and we have a small population.
I'm just curious to see what kind of advocacy your organization does in terms of promoting roads, airports, that would help industry move forward. We just went through a six-year hearing process on the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. I think if we had a road to support it, it would have lowered the costs and made it viable. This is prior to the oil prices dropping, of course.
Can you maybe give us some comment on that?