Two Tuktoyaktuk leaders were in Ottawa last week to make the case for federal investment in the communitySA国际影视传媒檚 port infrastructure.

SA国际影视传媒淏P, Imperial SA国际影视传媒� they are going to be coming back,SA国际影视传媒� said Tuk Mayor Merven Gruben, referencing the oil and gas companies that have explored offshore in the Arctic in the past.

SA国际影视传媒淲e fix up our infrastructure, get things ready, then it'll be more accessible and easier for the industry to come back.SA国际影视传媒�

Gruben was joined by former Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson, who also served as speaker in the last legislative assembly, as witnesses at a Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs meeting in Ottawa on Oct. 22.

Their main ask was that the government invest in docking facilities for the community and dredge the entrance to its harbour.

Both Gruben and Jacobson took the opportunity to rally against the five-year moratorium on offshore oil and gas development which began in 2016 and was imposed, SA国际影视传媒渨ithout even talking to us.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e a proud people who like to work for a living,SA国际影视传媒� said Gruben. SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e not used to getting social assistance and stuff.SA国际影视传媒�

The Tuktoyaktuk mayor said tourism has been a boon, but is SA国际影视传媒渟mall changeSA国际影视传媒� compared to oil and gas work.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e resource rich and cash poor,SA国际影视传媒� said Jacobson, adding that heSA国际影视传媒檚 seen the job market get worse over the past three years.

Liberal MP Don Rusnak pushed back on the moratorium point, saying the oil and gas activity that once populated the waters outside Tuk back in the 1980s hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 returned because the price of oil doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 make it economically viable.

He also noted the governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 commitment, made earlier this month, to budge on the moratorium and work with Northern partners to co-develop a governance framework and revenue-sharing agreements for the industry.
Gruben also mentioned potential to make Tuktoyaktuk a shipping hub if it had the port infrastructure, using its all-season road to truck up goods rather than barging them up the Mackenzie River to service the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 barging customers on the Arctic Ocean.

He mentioned that this would be a better option than the current system for servicing communities like Paulatuk, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk, which couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 get vital resupplies this year.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have the infrastructure for storage, fuel tank storage and the land available,SA国际影视传媒� said Gruben, adding that goods could be trucked up and stored in the winter and shipped out as soon as the ice melts.

SA国际影视传媒淚n 2012, I was invited to come here and speak to the panel as well and we did such a good presentation, I believe ... that in the next budget we got $129 million for our highway,SA国际影视传媒� said Gruben, referencing the previous governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 investment in the Inuvik-Tuk Highway and saying that heSA国际影视传媒檚 hoping for a similar response.