The following is being redistributed on behalf of The Government of Canada.

Northwest Territories to achieve average of $10-a-day regulated child care on April 1

The North is experiencing climate warming faster than anywhere in Canada, and residents, businesses and governments across the Northwest Territories (NWT) are answering this call to action. Today, the Departments of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) and Infrastructure (INF) are releasing annual reports on climate action, energy that outline progress made in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

As part of the Department of Environment and Climate Change’s annual engagement activities, forest managers across the Northwest Territories (NWT) are visiting communities in all regions to get input on wildfire management from Indigenous leaders, community governments and the public.

In February 2023, the Addictions Prevention and Recovery Services Work Plan was released. Since the plan’s release, 50% of the action items in the Work Plan have been completed.

The Work Plan contains 24 action items for strengthening addictions and wellness programs for residents of the Northwest Territories (NWT). The items in the plan respond to the Auditor General of Canada’s recommendations, delivered in 2022.

The recently completed action items include:

Work is underway to complete independent reviews of the 2023 wildfire season to gain a full understanding of the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) wildfire and emergency response.

The ultimate goals of these reviews are to improve our effectiveness as a government and ensure we have appropriate preparedness and response strategies in place going forward.

This work has two separate components:

The following is being redistributed on behalf of The Government of Canada.

Government of Canada signs two bilateral agreements with the Northwest Territories to improve health care - Canada.ca

The attached is being redistributed on behalf of the Chief Coroner's office.

As an initial step to addressing the territory’s economic challenges, Premier R.J. Simpson and Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek have released Restoring Balance: A Fiscal Sustainability Strategy for the 20th Legislative Assembly.

The strategy outlines the reality of the territory’s financial situation and sets significant targets to help support the territory’s economic recovery through the life of the 20th Assembly. The goal of the strategy is to increase revenues and reduce expenditures in a way that minimizes impacts on critical programs and services that residents rely on.

An independent evaluation of the Child and Youth Counselling (CYC) Initiative has been completed, and a final report published, including recommendations. The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has also released its response to the report’s recommendations.

Effective April 1, 2024, the carbon tax on diesel home heating fuel will be suspended in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Consumers will receive a point-of-purchase rebate on all diesel home heating fuel purchased in the NWT until March 31, 2027.