YELLOWKNIFE (May 29, 2014) – Over the next three months NWT residents will have the opportunity to seek clarification, ask questions and learn more about  the new Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) devolution legislation and authorities. The public review fulfills a commitment made by Premier Bob McLeod during the last Session of the Legislative Assembly.

The GNWT mirrored 26 federal acts and regulations governing public land, water and resource management in the NWT. All were enacted as territorial legislation on April 1, 2014. This ensured a smooth transition of authorities and public service delivery on the transfer date.

“Stable and well-understood legislative foundations will encourage investment, growth and prosperity, “ noted Premier Bob McLeod. “We encourage all NWT citizens to take the opportunity to learn about, comment on and better understand devolution legislation.”

Mirroring was a requirement of the devolution agreement and  means that the new GNWT laws address the same matters, in substantially the same way, as federal laws did before devolution. Changes addressed were limited to issues such as outdated language and applying GNWT drafting standards, and ensured that there were no legislative gaps or overlaps between the GNWT and Canada. The Government of the Northwest Territories now has the responsibility for this legislation and is able to make changes to the legislation if a need is identified, just as with any other GNWT legislation.

“Undertaking a comprehensive legislative change process requires time. It can be a highly technical exercise or it can be a very collaborative process that relies on the input of many interested parties. The review of the Wildlife Act, for example, took nearly 10 years to complete,” said Premier McLeod. “This is a first step in collecting that input. We will also need to work with the existing legislation and ensure that we can deliver on our promise of a more nimble, accountable government. This experience will allow us to achieve greater consensus on thoughtful and considered changes to the legislative framework when the time is right.”

The updated devolution website (http://devolution.gov.nt.ca/) now offers a plain language summary of each Act, an overview of the devolution legislative process, links to all the relevant pieces of legislation and an interactive forum for providing comment and seeking clarification. Questions, answers and comments from the public will be posted on the site and requests for more detailed  briefings can be submitted as well.

A summary of the information gathered during the review will be prepared for the end of September.

For more information:

Brenda Norris
Media Liaison
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: 867-669-2302
Email: brenda_norris@gov.nt.ca