Today, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek presented the 2023-24 Budget, the final budget of the 19th Legislative Assembly.

Budget 2023-24 prioritizes initiatives already set in motion to ensure their sustainability and successful transition into the next Assembly. Improvements to the capital budgeting process, strengthened debt management policies and a projected operating surplus of $178 million will allow the Assembly to end in better financial shape than it began.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released the annual increases for child care rates under the Child Care Fee Reduction subsidy for 2023/2024.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to the devastating impact that the drug poisoning crisis has had on the community in Hay River. The Coroner has confirmed that there were six deaths related to drug poisoning in 2022. Many families are struggling to understand and cope with the emotional toll of these deaths.

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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to provide an update on Housing Northwest Territories’ Renewal, including some long-awaited changes we have made to programs and policies that are already improving housing supports for those most in need.

In June 2021, at the first meeting of the NWT Council of Leaders, I stood with my colleague, the Honourable Premier Cochrane, and committed to conducting a review of the former NWT Housing Corporation’s policies and programs with a working group identified by the Council.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is seeking input from Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations, and residents of the Northwest Territories (NWT) to replace its Affirmative Action Policy with an Indigenous Employment Policy and an Employment Equity Policy.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has extended the timeline of its NWT Indigenous Languages Action Plan to 2024-2025.

Ministerial Activities Advisory for the week of February 7-13, 2023

Ministerial Travel

Please note that travel schedules may change with little or no notice. This schedule is accurate as of February 6, 2023.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is piloting Northern Studies 30, a Northwest Territories (NWT) high school course that focuses on land, governance, wellness and reconciliation.

Small-scale pilots of Northern Studies 30 began in various NWT schools starting this month. It is a made-in-the-NWT curriculum that is based on engagement with Indigenous Governments and other education partners, such as education body superintendents, the GNWT Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat, curriculum consultants and various working groups.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) is starting the process to change the status of the community government of Tsiigehtchic from a Charter to a Hamlet in accordance with Section 9(2) of the Hamlets Act.

This change will result in two distinct and separate government structures: a hamlet council and a band council. As a Hamlet, the authority and operations of the community government would be more easily defined and separated, and all residents that are eligible to vote will be able to vote and or run for the Mayor and Councillor positions.

February is Indigenous Languages Month in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) encourages residents to celebrate the Indigenous languages of the NWT and to take time this month to learn about and use them with pride.

Indigenous languages are the foundation of identity, pride, and community within the NWT. To foster revitalization, Indigenous languages need to be spoken in homes and communities so that intergenerational transmission can be restored.