Northwest Territories News

Sachs Harbour residents are being warned not to drink tap water after the smell of fuel and a "visible sheen" were found in some homes.

The federal government launched a new phase of a fund that aims to improve food security, this time promising more focus on Indigenous, northern communities.

The GNWT, Gahcho Kué mine and Native Women's Association announced a program to help women into skilled trades through placements at the mine.

The federal government is appealing the certification of a $600-million class action lawsuit alleging RCMP discrimination against Indigenous northerners.

How many house plants is too many? An NWT case involving "about 200 plants" asked the territory's rental officer to decide if your landlord can set a limit.

New Dene National Chief Gerald Antoine will lead an Indigenous delegation to meet the Pope on March 31. A Fort Nelson youth representative will also attend.

More than 5,000 tonnes of old vehicles, appliances, and other hazardous waste will be taken out of Beaufort Delta and Sahtu communities. Here are some photos.

In an unusual assignment, high school students from Montreal have spent the past two weeks helping to renovate a Yellowknife charity's youth dorms.

Proposed changes to the way physicians outside the NWT provide virtual care could have negative consequences for patients, the NWT Medical Association says.

Five people face charges after a three-month investigation into Yellowknife cocaine trafficking, RCMP say. One of the five, an 18-year-old, is still at large.

Twenty-four non-profits are jointly receiving a total of almost $200,000 from United Way NWT's community investment fund. A record number of groups applied.

Omicron BA.2, an easily transmitted variant, arrived in the NWT but won't affect the lifting of remaining pandemic restrictions on April 1, the territory said.

Two new investigations into illegal caribou harvesting were opened at the weekend as the number of animals affected since 2022 began moved beyond 40.

The NWT government reported the territory's 21st death related to Covid-19. There are currently 308 active cases across the territory.

The NWT's health authority says vacancy rates are dropping in some areas, even as Hay River braces for the latest impacts of a territory-wide staffing shortage.

The lawyers said the accused's Indigenous heritage was a factor in his drugs case. The accused himself said it wasn't. Untangling the case required two judges.

Former Jean Marie River chief Stanley Sanguez became Grand Chief of the Dehcho First Nations on an interim basis after Kenneth Cayen's removal last month.

Mr. Speaker, each year on the last Sunday of September, Canada salutes the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in their role as police and peace officers.

In Yellowknife on September 27th, RCMP, peace officers, family members and the public came together to recognize and honour the loss of loved ones, friends and colleagues who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Since the 1870’s, 222 officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and its forerunner, the North West Mounted Police have died across Canada. We owe each of them a profound and continuing debt of gratitude.

Police and peace officers include RCMP officers, correctional officers, highway patrol officers, territorial park officers and municipal enforcement officers.  Our police and peace officers regularly work in difficult environments and in dangerous situations.  In times of crisis, they respond quickly and without thought of personal danger.

As well as upholding the law, peace officers are mentors in our schools, coaches in our arenas and gymnasiums, and neighbours contributing in many ways to our communities.

The fallen officers recognized during the past year were RCMP Constable David Wynn of Alberta; Constable Daniel Woodall of the Edmonton police service; Transport Enforcement Officer, Toni D. Kristinsson from BC; and Corrections Officer Rhonda Commodore from Manitoba Corrections Services.

We remember those 56 who have fallen in the Northwest Territories, including the sacrifices of Constable Christopher Worden and Parole Officer Louise Parteger, who each lost their lives serving our citizens.

We have been working towards making communities safer and policing more effective in the Northwest Territories, by building trust and improving relationships between law enforcement and those they serve.

We will continue to build these positive relations through Community Policing Plans and working with community members on common goals and priorities.  These relationships need to be continually nurtured.  Great work has been accomplished in the past few years.

I know all the Members of this Assembly will want to be sure that the men and women who work hard and have dedicated their lives to public safety and public service know they have our sincere appreciation.

Selfless commitment, sacrifice and dedication; these qualities were exemplified by each officer we have lost.  Every peace officer deserves to go home safely to their loved ones at the end of their shift.  To those who didn’t make it back, we will never forget you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this final opportunity to welcome Members back to the Legislative Assembly. This will be the last sitting of the 17th Legislative Assembly, and while our time together will soon be drawing to a close, the work that we began here does not end.

The successes we have achieved and the plans and strategies we have put into action – all of which depended on the input and support of Members – will continue, helping to shape the future of this territory according to the vision and priorities we first set out four years ago.

The 17th Legislative Assembly and Government of the Northwest Territories have been guided by a vision of strong individuals, families and communities sharing the benefits and responsibilities of a unified, environmentally sustainable and prosperous Northwest Territories.

That is an ambitious vision; it is also an enduring vision, a vision Northerners have shared for many years. It is an ambition that will take time and commitment to realize, certainly more time than the four-year life of any one government provides.

The goals and priorities Members established at the beginning of the 17th Assembly describe how we have worked towards our shared vision. Our priorities have been to build a strong and sustainable future, increase employment opportunities, strengthen and diversify our economy, address housing needs and ensure a fair and sustainable health care system.

Elections are an important time for revisiting our vision, priorities and plans. They are a time when citizens and candidates have an opportunity to participate in a broad and vigorous discussion about different visions and priorities for the future.

Elections are a time for us to take stock and ask important questions that will shape the decisions and actions of the next government: Do we have the right vision? Can it be improved? What else can we do to make it a reality? What are the challenges we will have to overcome to create the strong, prosperous and environmentally sustainable territory Northerners want?  Which I believe we can have?

All of those questions must be left to the 18th Assembly to answer, but I would like to offer some observations on some of the challenges that the territory and the government will clearly be facing in coming years.

Few of these challenges will come as a surprise to anyone, they are the same ones that have shaped and constrained the decisions of past governments for many years: addressing the high cost of living, especially the cost of energy, growing the territorial economy, continuing efforts to grow the population, dealing with the infrastructure deficit, encouraging responsible resource development while protecting the land and environment, and dealing with the effects of climate change all while finding the money to fund government operations and invest in infrastructure across the territory.

These are complicated challenges that lie outside the direct control of government. Many are the result of global economic conditions and the effects of geography on our territory. Responding to them will require effective partnership with everybody that has a stake in a successful and prosperous Northwest Territories, including our government, the federal government, Aboriginal and community governments, business and industry, non-government organizations and individual citizens. Solving them means extending our planning horizon beyond the normal life of an Assembly, trying to understand what the next 10, 15 or 20 years hold and planning accordingly.

With this perspective in mind, aligning government spending to revenues will be one of the most important challenges for the next Assembly, a challenge with far-reaching implications.

The first thing to understand is that government revenues are closely tied to the size of the territorial economy and its growth prospects, which is in turn tied to resource development. The outlook for the Northwest Territories economy over the next five years is mixed, with some regions continuing to benefit from active resource projects, while activity in other areas has slowed considerably or declined.

The picture for five to 15 years out does not look much better, with current diamond mines all predicted to wind down. Projects currently being planned will not be able to match existing ones for economic activity. Resource exploration in the territory continues to be limited and bringing a new project into operation can take as much as ten years.

Slow economic growth over this time period means a flat revenue outlook for the Government of the Northwest Territories for potentially the next 15 years, meaning less money to sustain government programs and services or infrastructure investment.

We want to change this outlook and need to act now to make the Northwest Territories a more attractive and competitive place to live and do business. For the resource sector, this means continuing to invest in transportation and energy infrastructure that will aid exploration and improve project economics. It also means continuing to invest in efforts to grow the Northwest Territories population, including the high cost of living.

Investments of this nature will require an outlay of resources that will be difficult to come by so long as our revenue outlook is flat. Generating more revenue by raising taxes for our citizens or increasing royalties and corporate taxes will only increase the cost of living and discourage investment. That means our only option is to look internally for the resources, aligning our expenditures to our revenues so we are in a position to fund any new initiatives or capital investments.

These efforts need to be complemented by other actions to encourage responsible resource development, the single biggest sector of the territorial economy. Continuing to strengthen and refine our approach to responsible resource development and environmental protection is one example.

Outside of economics, certainty is one of the biggest factors influencing resource development. Having a consistent and predictable approach to how our government makes land-use and resource development decisions ensures developers can make investment decisions with some degree of confidence. Continuing to refine and strengthen the regulatory system post-devolution reduces duplication and delays for developers and ensures stronger decisions grounded in Northern priorities and values.

Continued progress in negotiating and implementing land, resource and self-government agreements in partnership with Aboriginal governments will also be critical. Settled agreements complemented by solid, collaboratively developed land-use plans will bring political certainty to our government and Aboriginal governments, as well as economic certainty and opportunity to industry. With 144,000 square kilometers of mineral-rich land subject to interim land withdrawals for decades, settling outstanding claims will create new economic opportunities and revenue possibilities for ourselves and Aboriginal governments both.

We also need to continue efforts to diversify the economy and strengthen relationships with potential investors and markets outside the Northwest Territories. Bringing the message about the tourism and investment opportunities our territory offers to places like Asia and the United States continues to be important. That effort is paying off in increased Asian tourism and the recent visit to the Northwest Territories of His Excellency Luo Zhaohui, Ambassador of China to Canada. Our leadership of PNWER for the past year has increased the profile and awareness of the Northwest Territories among western Governors and Premiers. That awareness will be further promoted when over 200 people come to Yellowknife for the PNWER winter meeting this November.

Mr. Speaker, this territory has tremendous potential. We have abundant natural resources and talented hard-working people ready and able to turn the natural advantages the Northwest Territories enjoys into long-term prosperity for our children and their children. The work Members have done during this Assembly has been focused on creating a strong foundation for that future, based on the vision, goals and priorities we agreed to four years ago.

With the support and guidance of Members, we have signed formal agreements that strengthened our relationships with Aboriginal governments, brought in devolution, and achieved two increases in the federal borrowing limit. With the Land Use and Sustainability Framework, Wildlife Act, transboundary water agreements and post-devolution work on resource development regulation, we continue to refine and strengthen our land and resources management regime.

We continue to work to increase employment opportunities, particularly in communities and regions, through decentralization and regional recruitment initiatives, earning recognition as one of the nation’s top diversity employers and employers for young people two years in a row.

We have made strategic infrastructure investments in the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Line and the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway and continue to advance the Mackenzie Valley Highway and plan for the Tlicho Winter Road and a road into the mineral-rich Slave Geological Province. We have developed an Economic Opportunities Strategy and Mineral Development Strategy and are working on an Oil and Gas Strategy to guide us in the wise use of our resources.

We are addressing housing needs through implementation of Building for the Future, the strategic plan emerging from our Shelter Policy Review, including improvements to public housing rents and a broader range of supports for homeowners and those wishing to transition to more permanent housing options.

We continue to invest in a fair and sustainable healthcare system by investing in strategies aimed at prevention and root causes like the Early Childhood Development Strategy, an Anti-Poverty Strategy, Addictions Strategy, Community Wellness Strategy, community safety strategies and others. We also continue to make progress on health system transformation that promises best care, best health for our residents in coming years.

All Members of this Assembly have played a critical role in this work and should share in the credit for these achievements. It could not have been done without the support, participation and input of Members and I want to thank you all for your commitment to building a strong, prosperous and environmentally sustainable territory.

Our work as legislators in the 17th Assembly is coming to an end, Mr. Speaker, but the work of investing in our people, our economy and our environment continues. There are some challenges ahead, as I have indicated, but I am confident that the people of the Northwest Territories and the leaders they will choose for the next Assembly are up for the challenge. This Assembly has set the wheels in motion; it will now be up to the 18th Assembly to continue the work of creating a strong, sustainable North that is home to healthy, educated people.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

FORT SIMPSON (September 15, 2015) – The Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment celebrated the opening of the newly built John Tsetso Memorial Library in Fort Simpson today, with Deh Cho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, Łı́ı́dlı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation Chief Gerald Antoine, MLA Kevin Menicoche and Mayor Sean Whelly.

“Today marks an important occasion for the community of Fort Simpson,” said Minister Lafferty. “When a library opens or expands its resources and services it is an investment in the community and provides opportunities for community members to explore, learn, discover and grow. Libraries are the heart of culture, identity and knowledge, and integral to healthy development.”

In addition to the new space, the library has expanded its collection, added iPads with the digital language apps loaded on them, DVDs and new furniture for patrons.

“Libraries are the best literacy resources we can build,” said Minister Lafferty. “Across the North, libraries are critical to underpinning much of the work the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has underway. Language, culture and heritage preservation and revitalization, early childhood development, education renewal and skills development and training all have their roots in learning, researching and exploration. Having a library in a community will always contribute to the healthy growth and development of its residents.”

The school library at Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School in Behchokǫ̀ will celebrate its grand opening as the new community public library on Friday, September 25.

Media inquiries:

Jacqueline McKinnon
Education, Culture and Employment
Tel: 867-920-6222
​Email:  jacqueline_mckinnon@gov.nt.ca