YELLOWKNIFE (October 11, 2017) – Each year, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, recognizes members of the NWT Fire Service for their work in protecting our families and homes from the threat of fire by presenting the annual Fire Service Merit Awards.

NWT Fire Service Merit Awards are granted based on nominations from community members and fire chiefs, to honour and recognize individuals and community fire departments for their significant contribution to fire safety and fire service across the territory.

The 2017 award recipients are:

Delivered on October 4, 2017 

Mr. Speaker, part of my role as the Minister Responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs is to ensure that we have a modern, responsive and made-in-the-north legislative framework.  This is no small task, as Municipal and Community Affairs administers 19 statutes in areas that range from property assessment to emergency management to local elections.

Delivered October 3, 2017

Mr. Speaker, since 2013, September 30^th has been marked as Orange Shirt Day, a day for all Canadians to remember the survivors of the residential school system.

Organizers chose an orange shirt as the symbol for that day based on a story told by Phyllis Jack Webstat, a survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC. In her story, Ms. Webstat tells of having the shiny, new orange shirt her grandmother had given to her being taken away on her first day at residential school.

Delivered on September 21, 2017

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is committed to supporting the development of strong community governments that are responsive and responsible to residents through effective local governance.  As part of that, it has been important for the Department to adapt its materials to reflect different types of community governments in the Northwest Territories which exercise their authorities  under municipal legislation, the Indian Act or new self-government agreements.

YELLOWKNIFE (September 19, 2017) – On September 20^th, 2017 at 9:55am, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will issue a live test of NWT Alert Ready, the Northwest Territories public alerting system. Residents may see and hear the public alert test on radio stations and cable networks across the NWT.

YELLOWKNIFE (September 5, 2017) - Today, the Consumer Affairs division of the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) is announcing a new guide to consumer protection in the NWT entitled “Hey! That’s Not Fair!” The purpose of the guide is to help clarify and explain general consumer rights and responsibilities, how to pursue a complaint about a product or service, and information about consumer services available to NWT residents by the GNWT. The guide is available on MACA’s website at www.maca.gov.nt.ca.

YELLOWKNIFE (August 21, 2017) – The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) is seeking nominations for the NWT Fire Service Merit Awards.

Based on nominations from community members, fire departments and fire chiefs, the NWT Fire Service Merit Awards honour and recognize individuals and community fire departments for their significant contributions to fire safety and fire service in communities across the Northwest Territories (NWT).

YELLOWKNIFE (August 3, 2017) – The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs is now accepting applications for the 2017-2018 Northwest Territories (NWT) Youth Ambassador Program. The program provides NWT youth with opportunities to build leadership skills through participation at special events and volunteer assignments.  In the past, NWT Youth Ambassadors have attended the Arctic Winter Games, Canada Winter Games, Canada Summer Games, and the North American Indigenous Games.

YELLOWKNIFE (July 11, 2017) – NWT residents are being asked to provide their views on how the Northwest Territories will safely regulate cannabis and to comment on proposed principles to guide how the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) addresses cannabis legalization.  Residents can provide their views through a new website launched by the GNWT this week.

Delivered on May 31, 2017

Mr. Speaker, our government made a commitment in its mandate to work in partnership with Aboriginal governments on a training program for First Nations governments with municipal-like responsibilities. I am very proud of the work that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has done to design and launch a training program to help improve the governance and management capacity of those governments.