Land management is an integrated process that involves many parties – from the lessees to stakeholders to government bodies. Most activities require land in some capacity. As a result, the Department is engaged in many initiatives that support the effective management and sustainability of land internally and through other organizations.

Proposing administrative and technical amendments to the Northwest Territories Lands Act and Commissioner’s Land Act is an independent legislative initiative. However, it relates to other ongoing GNWT initiatives. For example, all discussions are guided by the GNWT’s vision and guiding principles for land use and management as set out in the Land Use and Sustainability Framework.

The Department also recently released the Recreational Leasing Management Framework, which guides how the GNWT manages recreational use of land. The recommended actions in this document consider recreational uses and support related implementation activities.

The Department is also modernizing the Land Pricing Policy and will be introducing new Ministerial Policies to supplement our implementation of the updated Policy.

Similarly, the recommended actions support other GNWT departments’ initiatives, such as the implementation of the Northwest Territories Agriculture Strategy, and the development of a new Mineral Resources Act. The Department will continue to work with other GNWT departments to ensure the coordination of GNWT legislative initiatives currently underway.

As this initiative moves forward, it is anticipated that legislative changes will roll out over time. This may occur in parallel with other initiatives relating to land management in the NWT. Some of the recommended actions will take longer to fully implement than others depending on the scope of activity involved.