Land administration regimes throughout the world have a number of common features. They are generally comprised of processes and systems to manage land and information about land. These include:

• systems and processes for recording and registering interests in land
• defining and regulating land use
• issuing and transferring interests in land

In April 2014, the responsibility for managing and administering most public land in the NWT devolved from the federal government to the GNWT. Prior to devolution, the GNWT managed Commissioner’s Land under the Commissioner’s Land Act and the federal government managed Territorial Lands under the federal Territorial Lands Act. Through devolution, the GNWT acquired authority over the administration and control of Territorial Lands. To ensure a smooth transition, the GNWT mirrored the federal Territorial Lands Act and now manages Territorial Lands under the Northwest Territories Lands Act. This includes all lands formerly managed by the federal government, both surface and subsurface, with the exception of certain lands retained by the federal government, primarily contaminated waste sites or sites set aside for conservation purposes.

Currently, the GNWT administers and manages land primarily through the Northwest Territories Lands Act, the Commissioner’s Land Act, the Area Development Act and associated regulations.

The Commissioner’s Land Act was originally based on the federal Territorial Lands Act, which dates back to the 1950s. Over the years, the Commissioner’s Land Act evolved to enable the GNWT to respond to the NWT’s needs, primarily in the areas of communities and recreational land use. The Commissioner’s Land Act governs the disposition of surface rights and land use within and around most communities, as well as the land used for public airports and highways.   

The Northwest Territories Lands Act evolved to respond to different needs, primarily for land uses related to larger scale commercial activities and natural resource development. The Northwest Territories Lands Act primarily governs the disposition of surface rights outside communities, as well as dispositions of subsurface rights throughout the NWT including subsurface rights that are underlying Commissioner’s Land.

The Department is also responsible for the Area Development Act, which provides the legislative authority to designate and regulate specific areas for development. This legislation is not the focus of this initiative.

Since these legislative frameworks for land administration developed independently over decades to address distinct geographical areas and types of land use, they are quite different today. The differences between the Northwest Territories Lands Act and Commissioner’s Land Act can present challenges for land management and administration in the NWT. With both the Northwest Territories Lands Act and Commissioner’s Land Act now under a single government, the GNWT has the opportunity to improve how the two lands acts work together.