Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you today. I would like to acknowledge that I'm speaking to you from Calgary, Alberta, the traditional territory of the Treaty 7 first nations and the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes the Siksika, Piikani and Kainai first nations. Treaty 7 also includes the Tsuut'ina Nation and the Stoney Nakoda Nation, which includes Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley first nations. The city of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta Region 3.
My name is Dale Swampy. I'm a member of the Samson Cree Nation and president of the National Coalition of Chiefs, which is a coalition of industry-supportive chiefs. Our mandate is to defeat on-reserve poverty. We work to establish mutually beneficial agreements between first nations and industry partners in an effort to enhance the economic prosperity of reserve communities.
I'm here today because I am very concerned, along with our member chiefs, that a cap on emissions will be, in effect, a cap on production in the oil and gas industry. This will certainly impact the Canadian economy, affect the number of good jobs out west and make energy prices around the world even higher, without impacting global emissions one bit.
To me, the biggest problem is the way it will impact first nation economies and our ability to finally share in Canada's resource economy and get our people out of poverty. We have historically been left out of Canada's wealth and prosperity. I know all the committee members are well aware of this terrible history, but you might not be fully aware of how far indigenous people have come in fighting for that seat at the table and working with industry to participate in the oil and gas sector. There's still much more work to do for our people to get our fair share, but there isn't a single other sector in Canada that has provided us with as many opportunities, including well-paying jobs, contracts, royalties and ownership shares. We're talking about billions of dollars in revenues that we are earning. It pays for housing and cultural programs and supports our elders and youth.
We want to own projects like TMX. A number of first nation groups are competing to buy that project from the federal government, so it's not a subsidy, as a member of this committee stated the other day. It's a business opportunity for our nations that will bring stable, independent funding to our communities, so we can support the services and programs that our people are so desperately lacking. In Asia, customers for our oil are lined up for the product that will come through TMX, but we need to be able to produce that oil in the first place to export it.
That's not to mention the LNG projects on the B.C. coast, in Quebec and in Newfoundland that first nations are partners in and have significant ownership involvement in. The world is crying out for that LNG and has to use coal instead of us supplying it to them. If you put a cap on production, we won't be able to produce and export the LNG that so many first nations are involved in and counting on. We won't be able to supply that product to Europe and Asia to provide that bridge fuel in the energy transition and help with the energy crisis happening in Europe.
To hear that you are studying how to shrink the oil and gas industry and stop new production just when we have gotten our foot in the door and are positioned to benefit and lead that new growth is incredibly frustrating.
The government should absolutely support efforts to reduce emissions intensity in oil and gas production, such as through carbon capture. First nation communities are already involved, working in partnership with industry on big carbon storage projects. One was announced just last week between Enbridge, Alexander First Nation, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, Enoch Cree Nation and Paul First Nation. They have part ownership of it.
If this study supports expanding things like making Canadian oil and gas less emissions intense and providing more opportunities and capital for first nations to be engaged in that, I think everybody would be supportive and pleased with that. That would be a positive role for the government.
Based on many things I've been hearing, this Parliament seems to treat the oil and gas sector like they're the enemy and a problem to be fixed. Instead, I ask you to work together with industry and first nations to strengthen our oil and gas sector and indigenous involvement in it. Help it reduce emissions, not by shrinking it and producing less, but through innovation. Help us to supply more to the global demand instead of leaving it to Russia and OPEC to provide more while first nations lose out on the opportunity.
The world needs oil and gas, and it will need it for decades to come. I believe that the last drops should come from first nation-owned projects in Canada.
Thank you.