The construction of the Tłı̨chǫ All Season Road Project moves closer reality with the announcement today by Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod that North Star Infrastructure has been selected as the Preferred Proponent, pursuant to the GNWT’s Request for Proposal for the project.

The GNWT and NSI will be working together to finalize the Project Agreement and start the preparatory work required before construction can begin later the Fall of 2019.

North Star Infrastructure is a consortium consisting of:

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released the Government of the Northwest Territories Disability Action Plan 2018/19-2021/22. The Action Plan identifies key activities the government is doing to improve support for NWT residents with disabilities. 

The Disability Action Plan focuses on five key objectives:

Today, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Wally Schumann announced that tourism numbers have reached record heights in the Northwest Territories (NWT) in 2017-18. For the first time, over 110,000 visitors travelled to the NWT with spending totaling just over $203 million in the process.

Mr. Speaker, over the last five years the Government of Northwest Territories has worked in partnership with people and organizations across the NWT to better understand and meaningfully address the root causes of poverty in this territory. This outreach supports our mandate commitment to reduce poverty in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories has made a mandate commitment to implement the 2030 Energy Strategy. This includes renewable and alternative energy solutions and actions that the GNWT and our partners will undertake to meet targets for greenhouse gas reductions in heating and power generation as well as a 10-year strategy for investing federal and other funding towards energy projects.

Mr. Speaker, six community governments in the Northwest Territories had an election on October 15^th, 2018. These elections took place for all of our communities with City, Town or Village status, including the City of Yellowknife, the Towns of Hay River, Fort Smith, Norman Wells and Inuvik and the Village of Fort Simpson.

There were 87 candidates in total, vying for 52 available seats. The large number of candidates shows that there is keen interest in the local level of government and that individuals want to serve as leaders and decision-makers for their community.

Mr. Speaker, access to housing continues to be one of the most serious issues for people in the Northwest Territories. Many new players are coming to the table with a new interest in addressing this need and roles and responsibilities for housing delivery continue to change and evolve. Our government is committed to working with other governments and housing stakeholders to implement northern solutions for northern housing to help address our high cost of living.

Check Against Delivery

Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to provide an update on the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs’ progress on our mandate commitment to develop and implement a Northwest Territories Physical Activity Strategy. This strategy will promote community wellness and encourage individuals and families to lead healthy lifestyles through the promotion of physical activity.

Check Against Delivery

Mr. Speaker, the numbers are in and I’m pleased to say that the Northwest Territories tourism sector continues to lead our territory’s march to a more diverse economy. Even on the heels of what was an extraordinary year of growth, in 2017-2018, we have, once again, seen our tourism numbers climb.