Media is invited to receive an update on the wildfire situation in the Northwest Territories, the ongoing response to the wildfires, and resulting evacuations.

Premier Caroline Cochrane, Minister Shane Thompson and program experts from multiple Government of the Northwest Territories departments as well as representatives from NorthwesTel and Northwest Territories Power Corporation will be available to answer questions.

DATE: Monday, August 14, 2023

TIME: 4 p.m. MST

LOCATION: Virtual (Microsoft Teams)

The Government of Canada is providing assistance to support the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) with wildfire and emergency response management during this unprecedented wildfire season.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released the Report on the Review of GNWT Procurement Policies and Practices, which outlines a comprehensive plan to maximize benefits for Northwest Territories’ (NWT) residents and businesses by improving government contracting and purchasing practices.

Current fire bans for all public and private lands in both the North Slave and South Slave Regions have been extended.

These bans are effective through August 18, 2023 and may be extended if necessary. They apply to following communities and on the land:

North Slave:

• Behchokǫ
• Dettah
• Gamètı̀
• łutselk’e
• N’dilǫ
• Wekweètı̀
• Whatı̀
• Yellowknife

South Slave:

As part of the proposed Lockhart All-Season Road (LASR) project, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is inviting residents to provide feedback as it prepares to submit a land use permit application to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.

The attached is being redistributed on behalf of the Conference of Management Authorities.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) committed to providing better supports to help residents develop greater financial security so that they can participate in community life and share in the opportunities available throughout the Northwest Territories (NWT). To support this commitment, the GNWT has made significant improvements to the Income Assistance program and has created a new Income Assistance (IA) Program for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is investing $375,000 in a new Arts Economic Development Pilot Program (AEDPP) to help commercial artists in the Northwest Territories (NWT) develop product inventories for sale and/or export products to market.

Current fire bans for all public and private lands in both the North Slave and South Slave Regions have been extended.

These bans are effective through August 11, 2023 and may be extended if necessary. They apply to following communities and on the land:

North Slave:

• Behchokǫ
• Dettah
• Gamètı̀
• łutselk’e
• N’dilǫ
• Wekweètı̀
• Whatı̀
• Yellowknife

South Slave:

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is seeking feedback on how contaminated sites are remediated across the territory.

The draft Environmental Guideline for Contaminated Site Remediation reflects the GNWT’s expanded scope of responsibility post-devolution, including current methodologies for contaminated site remediation and updated remediation criteria for some parameters.

The draft Guideline: