Ublaami, good afternoon. Quyanainni, Madam Chair, honourable committee members and Mr. Clerk for your invitation.
My name is Piers Kimiksana Kreps. I'm the director of government affairs at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation in Inuvik. I am joined today by my colleague Travis Balaski, president of the Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation. We are delighted to present to the committee today on the Inuvialuit energy security project.
I would like to start off by giving some background information about the Inuvialuit.
We are located in six communities across the western Canadian Arctic, with Inuvik, NWT, being our regional hub. In 1984, our people ratified the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, which established the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. A majority of our 5,000-plus beneficiaries live in the Inuvialuit settlement region. Our modern treaty, as we call it, also established several corporations to serve distinct purposes, including the Inuvialuit Land Corporation, which holds settlement lands over which we own surface and subsurface rights, and the Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation, which facilitates the engagement of Inuvialuit in the energy and resources sector.
The Inuvialuit settlement region has a long history of natural resource development. The Berger inquiry was established over 50 years ago to investigate the impacts of major proposed developments on and around our lands. The inquiry found that our rights must be respected and that we must have economic self-determination. Today, the Inuvialuit have determined that the Inuvialuit energy security project can deliver us economic benefits while maintaining our identity and environment.
Now I would like to pass the mic to Mr. Balaski.