The Government of the Northwest Territories has relaunched the We Need to Talk About this Stuff Campaign. The campaign is a video series featuring Northerners sharing their personal experiences with mental health, trauma, addiction, coping, and healing.
As the new school year begins, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is providing an update on drinking water safety at three Yellowknife Education District No. 1 schools: École William McDonald Middle School, Range Lake North School and N.J. Macpherson School.
Mitigation measures are being implemented at all three schools based on expert guidance and proven best practices. These steps are designed to ensure long-term drinking water safety.
At École William McDonald Middle School:
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has received follow-up testing results confirming elevated lead levels in the drinking water at N.J. Macpherson School.
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), in partnership with REACH Nexus at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto), has launched a three-year project to provide free and anonymous access to health and harm reduction supplies through Our Healthbox machines.
Premier R.J. Simpson today announced the appointment of Mr. Alan Doody as the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services for the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), effective August 19, 2025.
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) continues to take action to address concerns about the presence of lead in water in some Yellowknife schools. Since our last update, which shared preliminary testing results, we have received Stantec’s final reports, which confirms preliminary findings and have also completed an internal review to understand why initial action was delayed when the water testing initiative first rolled out in 2025, and to identify ways to improve.
Minister of Health and Social Services Lesa Semmler has completed a successful visit to the Sahtu Region, where she was joined by Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) Public Administrator Dan Florizone along with MLA McNeely. The visit included stops in the communities of Tulita, Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells.
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has received follow-up lead testing results for École William McDonald Middle School and Range Lake North School. These results are part of an ongoing assessment of lead in school drinking water systems being conducted by engineering and environmental consulting firm Stantec, which began earlier this spring following initial concerns about water quality. A final report summarizing the findings and next steps is expected shortly.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Lesa Semmler, met with the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) Public Administrator and health system leadership in Yellowknife to discuss progress and shared priorities for the year ahead.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Caitlin Cleveland and Minister of Health and Social Services Lesa Semmler issued the following joint statement today on recent changes to Jordan’s Principle:
“Across the Northwest Territories, children and families are being impacted by recent administrative changes to Jordan’s Principle. As territorial Ministers—and as Northerners—we are deeply concerned about the unintended consequences of these changes, and we are urging swift federal action to protect the progress that’s been made.
