The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has started construction of the Inuvik Wind Project.

The project is a key initiative under the 2030 Energy Strategy and will reduce diesel consumption in the NWT’s largest off-grid community by 30 percent – offsetting approximately three million litres of diesel per year. The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6,000 tonnes per year and will provide economic opportunities to Northern businesses during the construction phase.

Today, the Premier’s Awards for Excellence winners were announced. Due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, no award ceremony was held this year. Instead, the recipients were notified by email and the physical awards are being mailed out.

The annual Premier’s Award for Excellence program recognizes the outstanding achievement of Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) employees or teams who continue to strive for excellence.

This year, honours were presented in two separate categories.

Today, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek released the 2022-23 Budget, the third budget of the 19^th Legislative Assembly.

Total revenues of $2.3 billion are expected in 2022‑23 and total expenditures of $2.06 billion, which include spending for programs and services and infrastructure contributions. The 2022‑23 surplus is forecasted to be $131 million.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has expanded its Career and Education Advisor (CEA) program in the 2021-22 school year.

The CEA program provides specialized education and career advice to Grade 9–12 students and school-aged youth across the Northwest Territories (NWT).  The program is designed to meet the unique needs of NWT students, youth and their families, as well as educators. This year the program welcomed five more advisors to its team, for a total of nine CEAs. This means there is now a CEA based in every NWT region.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released a discussion paper titled Review of Royalty Regulations in the NWT to guide engagements on the royalty regime and Mineral Resources Act Regulations (MRAR).

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is announcing that changes to the current travel restrictions and self-isolation Public Health Order are expected to go into effect Feb. 28th, 2022 so that leisure travel can be resumed in the Northwest Territories (NWT) on March 1, 2022.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has launched a pilot program titled Build Your Skills, which provides formal essential skills assessments to identify foundational skill gaps in potential and current apprentices.

Through this pilot program, potential and current apprentices can access curriculum supports online and tools to build essential skills. Participation in Build Your Skills can help future apprentices prepare for the Trades Entrance Exam and help apprentices be successful in completing their technical training.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is partnering with the Government of Canada to develop its next agriculture funding policy framework.

Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), the GNWT will host engagements on various platforms until March 31, 2022.

The next five-year national policy for agricultural funding in the Northwest Territories (NWT) is currently under development with agriculture partners and stakeholders and will contribute to realizing the vision and goals of the NWT Agriculture Strategy.

February is Indigenous Languages Month in the Northwest Territories (NWT). This year’s theme is “Let’s Go Fishing,” recognizing the important role of our sacred land and resources in cultural traditions, identity and community.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is announcing changes to the Trades and Occupation Wage Subsidy Program (TOWSP). The changes will help employers hire and retain third and fourth year apprentices, and will encourage employers to recruit women into non-traditional trades.

In the summer of 2021, participating employers provided their feedback through a survey, which informed the announced changes. In the survey, 90 per cent of employers supported allocating the budget remaining after October 1 to fund third and fourth year apprentices.