Population surveys carried out this summer by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds show caribou numbers continue to decline significantly.

Surveys done in June 2018 indicate the number of animals in the Bathurst herd has dropped from about 20,000 in 2015 to approximately 8,200 in 2018. At its peak in 1986, the size of the herd was estimated at more than 470,000 caribou. The Bluenose-East herd has also declined from approximately 39,000 animals in 2015 to roughly 19,300 caribou.

Earlier this month, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Wally Schumann tabled the 2017-2018 Grants and Contributions Report which details $17.6 million in economic development and diversification investment by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). 

The annual report documents financial contributions made through the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) to individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and other organizations, with initiatives supporting economic development during the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

The Department of Industry Tourism and Investment (ITI) celebrated the career of its longest-serving tourism operator last night and saluted the Northwest Territories’ 2018 Parks Hospitality Award winner.

Alex Hall’s recognition for the territories longest-service tourism operator comes as he ends a long, storied career sharing the magic of the Arctic with visitors from around the globe. He started Canoe Arctic in 1971.

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.

Today, Minister of Infrastructure Wally Schumann announced the launch of a new grant initiative—the Government Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Grant Program.

The Government GHG Grant Program is an application-based, non-repayable grant program designed to support GHG emissions reduction projects and initiatives for NWT community governments, municipalities, and Indigenous governments.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Caroline Cochrane, is pleased to announce the names of five recipients inducted into the 2018 Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle on October 29, 2018.

Recipients are recognized and respected in their communities for leadership, participation and significant contributions to the arts, culture and heritage. By category, the recipients for the 2018 Minister’s Culture and Heritage Circle are:

The Government of the Northwest Territories released the NWT Oral Health Action Plan 2018/19 – 2020/21 today. The goal of the three year Oral Health Action Plan is to reduce tooth decay, tooth loss and chronic pain in NWT residents, particularly in children and youth.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Caroline Cochrane, today released the Government’s Response to the Aurora College Foundational Review Report (“Review Report”), announcing the transformation of Aurora College into a polytechnic university to better meet the needs of residents of the Northwest Territories. 

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has accepted the overarching recommendation to transform the College into a polytechnic university.