Yes. That was our biggest problem when we first got organized back in 2017. There was a group of chiefs from northern gateway pipeline who weren't consulted and kept on requesting meetings time and time again with the Liberal government, and who were refused.
Thirty-one out of the 40 communities along the right-of-way of northern gateway were signed on as equity owners in that project, and the Liberal government refused to meet with us. We flew to Ottawa on almost 20 occasions, protesting against the tanker ban and against the lack of consultation for the CER, the new legislative regime for new projects. We protested against not being able to provide input in the UNDRIP legislation. We protested against many other types of legislation that are important and impact us greatly.
This emissions cap is going to do the same thing. We're going to see a lot of situations where the budgets, the economy and the ability for the governments to be able to levy budgets throughout these years of reduced production are going to affect marginal funding programs, and that is first nations: We are marginal funding programs. Our ability to be able to get our people on reserve out of poverty is going to be limited even more because of this.
Everybody has complaints about emissions, but nobody provides solutions. I haven't heard a solution here today, and I haven't heard a solution about anything in the past three years on tackling climate change. I think what we have to do is to get a sustainable energy plan. That means an energy plan that doesn't ruin our economy, an energy plan that gives us a sustainable transition into green energy.
I mean, we're not climate deniers. We're just wanting to be involved in the economy. We're front and centre these days because of the new ESG guidelines, and if these ESG guidelines had been incorporated in the 1970s or the 1980s, we'd have a good grasp on the economy right now, but it's just too little, too late, and we're struggling to get our people out of the welfare society that was created.