The attached is being distributed on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government.

The attached is being distributed on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government.

The Protected Areas Act came into force today, providing the legislative framework for creating a network of permanent protected areas that conserve the ecological and cultural worth of the Northwest Territories’ (NWT) most valued places, now and into the future.

The Act allows the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to work collaboratively with Indigenous governments and organizations to establish and manage protected areas in a way that protects biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural continuity.

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

Due to extremely dry forest conditions and the threat of wildfires, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) has closed the 60th Parallel Territorial Park until further notice.

Fire bans have also been put in place for the following parks effective immediately:

• Fort Smith/Queen Elizabeth Territorial Park
• Hay River Territorial Park
• Little Buffalo Falls Territorial Park
• Twin Falls Territorial Park

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Good morning everyone.

Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to echo Premier McLeod’s sentiment about the importance of these types of meetings and having an opportunity to get together to discuss common challenges and goals, and find concrete ways to work together to find solutions.

Last week, I was in Inuvik for the Arctic Development Expo where I spoke a lot about some of the items we’ll discuss today.

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Good morning and thank you for being here for the NWT Economic Partners' Collaboration Symposium.

I am pleased to see so many faces in the room. These types of events are important to the economic health of our territory. They give us an opportunity to speak openly about the challenges we’re facing, and work together to come up with suggestions about how best to address them, while still respecting the individual rights, legal authorities and priorities of each government.

Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod has made the following statement welcoming the Government of Canada’s recent submission on Canada’s extended continental shelf:

“Ensuring Canada’s Arctic rights are recognized within international law is an important component of further strengthening Canada’s position in the Arctic, along with supporting the development of the region including its people and governments.

The annual Premier’s Awards for Excellence were held in the Caribou Room of the Chateau Nova Hotel this morning.

 The Premier’s Award recognizes the outstanding achievement of individual GNWT employees or teams of GNWT employees who continue to strive for excellence, best practice management and improvements in the workplace.

The Premier’s Award for Collaboration recognizes the outstanding achievement of GNWT employees in teams who work in partnership with other government and non-government employees to improve services to Northwest Territories’ residents.

Mr. Speaker, this Assembly made a mandate commitment to improve food security in the Northwest Territories through the effective co-management of wildlife including caribou. Our government is therefore taking significant steps with our co-management partners to support the recovery of our struggling barren-ground herds, including investing an additional $6.8 million over five years for conservation and recovery efforts.