The new NWT government has released a fiscal responsibility strategy that aims to find $150 million a year in extra cash by increasing revenues or reducing expenditures.
The strategy, titled Restoring Balance, outlines a plan to increase savings over the next four years while limiting the impact on programs and services amid what the GNWT says is a challenging financial outlook.
“This is the first major step we’re taking to address the territory’s economic challenges and ensure that every government dollar spent translates into meaningful improvements in the daily lives of NWT residents,” Premier RJ Simpson said at a press conference on Monday.
“This fiscal sustainability strategy is anchored in the very simple idea that every dollar we spend on programs and services supports the needs of residents and communities across the territory.”
Targets in the strategy include repaying a minimum of $150 million in short-term debt by the end of March 2028 and fully funding capital projects from operating surpluses.
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The NWT government also plans to cap annual forced growth and new initiatives to $10 million, and hold annual supplementary reserves to $35 million.
The territorial government said those goals will be tracked and reported on regularly.
As a start, the GNWT said it will spend the coming weeks completing “a government-wide review process to determine inefficiencies and duplication in resources.”
That will include figuring out which programs are not required by legislation, are not delivered broadly, and don’t relate to the new government’s yet-to-be-published priorities.
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The strategy notes that while the territory’s revenue is expected to increase by three percent annually over the next four years, expenses are currently expected to grow by 4.5 percent a year during that time.
According to the GNWT, that’s due to the increased cost of delivering healthcare, climate change and natural disasters, inflationary pressures, and increased growth of the public sector.
Since 2019-20, the territory’s public service has increased by 1,391 jobs or 27.3 percent.
However, finance minister Caroline Wawzonek said the new fiscal sustainability plan will not result in cuts to the public service.
The NWT government says a web-based survey is being developed for public sector employees to provide feedback and suggest how the government can be more efficient.
Wawzonek said the strategy is the culmination of work done in the previous government. That includes government renewal, an initiative introduced by Wawzonek that looked for inefficiencies and duplication of resources across the territorial government.
The NWT government said proposed changes from that review will be included in its 2024-25 operating budget, which MLAs are set to debate in May this year.
The NWT government released an interim budget last week to fund territorial programs and services for the first three months of the 2024-25 fiscal year.
