The attached is being distributed on behalf of the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

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Mr. Speaker, in the spring of 1999, a small community in southern Ontario called Walkerton made national news because of the deaths and sickness that were linked to contamination in the municipality’s drinking water supply.  This incident served as a wake-up call for municipalities and governments across Canada to take stock of the state of drinking water supplies in communities across the nation.

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Mr. Speaker, one of our government’s guiding principles is to ensure that the expenditure of public funds maximizes economic benefits to Northerners and supports Northern business. This is consistent with our longstanding commitment to support Northwest Territories businesses and grow a strong, diversified economy.

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Mr. Speaker, supporting vulnerable residents in need of housing or facing homelessness continues to be an essential part of the Government of the Northwest Territories’ response to COVID-19. The Northwest Territories Housing Corporation is working diligently to meet the needs of our residents as we move through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Mr. Speaker, as COVID-19 approached at the beginning of this year, our government was preparing our institutions to respond to the threat of a generation.

Before a case ever reached our borders, we pulled together a team from across our public service to stand up our emergency response. As the threat grew, so too did our response. 

Northwest Territories business leaders and the Government of the Northwest Territories are working together to safeguard the territory’s economy from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining a protective public health response.

As the GNWT prepared for the inevitable arrival of COVID-19, the swift mobilization of its pandemic services limited the number of cases, and prevented loss-of-life.

Today, the territory is in a position to look forward while others are tightening up in part because of these measures.

Premier Cochrane's Itinerary for November 2, 2020

Issued October 30, 2020.

Public Events and Meetings

The Premier will be participating in a sitting of the Legislative Assembly.

Closed Events and Meetings

The following events are closed to the media

The Premier will be chairing a Cabinet House Strategy meeting. 

Internal Meetings

All meetings and events subject to change.

For Ministerial Media Requests, Contact:

Cabinet Communications

Beginning November 2, 2020, the Yellowknife Driver and Motor Vehicle (DMV) office will no longer accept walk-ins, and will focus on servicing clients through scheduled appointments.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) regularly evaluates its operations to enable improvements to service delivery. The Department of Infrastructure has heard the public’s concerns and understands that the walk-in process had been frustrating for some clients.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is pleased to share the results of the 2020 Northwest Territories (NWT) Environmental Audit, released today.

Every five years, an independent auditor is appointed to conduct an Environmental Audit, as required under legislation and land claim agreements. The Audit is a way to assess how well the NWT environmental regulatory system is working and provide recommendations to help guide decision-makers, not just the GNWT.

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Mr. Speaker, in February during the delivery of the Budget Speech I said it was time to use creativity and innovation to find internal efficiencies. Since then, our government has had to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and in my last two fiscal updates since the onset of COVID-19, I have again said that now is the time to use creativity and use this moment of heightened awareness around our fiscal situation to consider how we want to emerge from the pandemic as a government and as a Territory.