Today, Minister of Health and Social Services, Julie Green, tabled the 2021-2022 Annual Report of the Director of Child and Family Services in the Legislative Assembly. The Annual Report provides a summary of data on the delivery of services under the NWT’s Child and Family Services Act, Adoption Act, Custom Adoption Recognition Act, and the federal government’s Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families.

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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report to this House and residents of the NWT on the progress we are making to transform the child and family services system to better serve children, youth, families, and communities. We want to create a system that provides services that are culturally safe and anti-racist.

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Mr. Speaker, later today I will be tabling the 2023-2024 Capital Estimates, which uses a revised approach in budgeting that better aligns the GNWT’s planned spending with actual project delivery.  Overall, the proposed Capital Estimates include $328 million in total spending, comprised of $292.5 million in departmentally managed capital, and $35.5 million for Housing NWT.   

The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (PWNHC) in partnership with Homebase and Communities Building Youth Futures (CBYF) will be hosting an afternoon hockey tournament for all ages to celebrate the first recorded hockey game in North America in Délı̨nę, Northwest Territories on October 20, 1825.

Opening ceremonies will begin at 1 p.m. in the PWNHC’s parking lot, followed by indoor and outdoor activities such as table-top and shinny hockey tournaments, prizes and hockey history!

No registration is required.

Ministerial Activities Advisory for the week of October 18-24, 2022

Ministerial Travel

Please note that travel schedules may change with little or no notice. This schedule is accurate as of October 17, 2022.

There is no travel scheduled for this time period

Meetings and Appearances

Please note that event organizers may have attendance restrictions­­­ for their event. Contact organizers for more information.

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Mr. Speaker, good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be back in the House for the Fall sitting of the 19th Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Speaker, just over three years ago many of us were elected to this House to represent residents in constituencies across the territory. With just under one year remaining in the life of this government, we have much to accomplish.

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by again expressing my gratitude to all health and social services workers in the Northwest Territories. These dedicated professionals have been serving the needs of residents through some very difficult times. I want to assure staff, as well as my colleagues here today, and residents of the Northwest Territories, that the Department of Health and Social Services is working hard to find solutions that will ease the pressure on the system.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a heavy subject impacting many Northern residents and I acknowledge that my statement may be triggering for some people as it includes subject matter around suicide and mental health in the NWT. I encourage anyone who may find these subject matters to be triggering to take the necessary steps for your emotional safety, which may include stepping out of the House or muting my statement until I finish.

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Mr. Speaker, for the second consecutive year, several communities throughout the Northwest Territories were impacted by flooding. That flooding caused significant damage not only to homes and properties of residents, but also to the roads, buildings, airports and ferry landings they use regularly.

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Mr. Speaker, the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university is often presented as one project, but it is in fact a collection of over 100 projects, spread over three phases.  The work has been a collaboration between Aurora College and the Government of the Northwest Territories, with wide-ranging and ongoing engagement throughout the process.