Housing, the economy, healthcare, emergencies and public safety are central to the NWT government’s new four-year mandate, Premier RJ Simpson said on Thursday.
Those topics are joined by a sixth area of focus, “addressing the effects of trauma,” to form the six headings of the mandate.
Simpson said his government’s mandate was “not an itemized list” – some earlier ones have been, which some civil servants said was too rigid a framework – but instead should be seen as “a guide to focus our efforts.”
The document contains statements of intent rather than specific actions and measurable goals.
“As the world changes, we must ensure that our government is a source of stability for our residents that can be relied on to provide dependable and high-quality basic services,” Simpson told colleagues in the legislature.
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He said addressing the challenges facing the NWT will “require a departure from the status quo.”
In a speech outlining the document’s themes, Simpson said his government “must be flexible, have the courage and compassion to embrace risk, the humility to trust and to learn from each other, and the willingness to work together in true partnership.”
Territorial politicians are sitting for the first time since February and will do so until June 13.
What should residents expect?
In the past, some mandates have become documents that set out what each government department was expected to achieve before the next territorial election. This mandate, running until 2027, takes a different approach to evolving a short set of priorities already agreed by all 19 MLAs.
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Those priorities, published in February, were:
- the suitability, accessibility, and affordability of housing;
- a strong economic foundation;
- access to healthcare and addressing the effects of trauma; and
- safe residents and communities.
The new mandate offers broad visions for each of these bullet points.
On housing, Simpson said on Thursday his government will “work to attract more federal investments in housing, make more land available for development, and increase the construction of new homes.”
To grow the economy, he said the GNWT will work on “training opportunities, closing our infrastructure gap, cutting red tape by reducing administrative and regulatory burdens, and being responsive to the needs of the private sector.”
With diamond mines soon closing, Simpson said his government will “work tirelessly to increase exploration and development,” mentioning gold and critical minerals.
The GNWT will find new and innovative ways to attract healthcare workers, the premier said, “while ensuring healthcare workers feel supported so they will want to remain in the field and in the territory.”
On the subject of trauma, Simpson said his government will support “Indigenous governments and other partners in developing and delivering culturally appropriate trauma treatment, mental wellness and addiction programs.”
“With a focus on healing, we will make programs and services easier to access through an integrated and person-centred approach to service delivery,” he said.
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As the NWT enters another wildfire season – and with a major communications outage caused by wildfire damage fresh in most residents’ minds – Simpson said the GNWT will ensure emergency management is robust and effective, advance efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and “work to increase redundant community, energy, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure.”
On the sixth and last topic, public safety, Simpson said the GNWT needs to “make the NWT a less inviting place for drug dealers to do business.”
“We will focus on crime prevention through public education, early intervention, person-centred service delivery and community-driven solutions,” he said, “while at the same time ensuring communities and the RCMP have access to tools to help combat the drug trade.”
Shorter mandate, fewer specifics
A key difference between the mandate and the priority list is that while all MLAs set the priorities, the mandate is a document owned by cabinet.
Simpson said the mandate was “broad enough” for input from Indigenous government, communities, the public, the private sector, NGOs and regular MLAs, rather than being a set-in-stone list of actions.
The new mandate has nine pages of text. You can view a digital version on the GNWT’s website.
The mandate of Caroline Cochrane’s government – published in 2020 – featured more than 30 pages and included specific commitments regarding the number of childcare spaces and homes to be created, as well as healthcare staff to be hired. That mandate also included detailed timelines.
Even that mandate was seen as slightly scaled back in comparison to Premier Bob McLeod’s mandate from 2015 to 2019, which included around 230 separate items and which even he said was “unwieldy.”
Simpson’s mandate does not follow suit. In his speech, he said specific actions, targets and measures will instead be set out in annual business plans, promising “transparent reporting.”
Attention now turns to finance minister Caroline Wawzonek, who will deliver the new government’s first full budget on Friday morning.
