GNWT rejects key 2023 recommendation but accepts others

The NWT government has rejected a major recommendation from a review of how it handled 2023’s wildfires and evacuations but says it accepts the review’s 34 other suggestions.

Transitional Solutions Inc, the company hired to carry out the year-long review, concluded the NWT needs a dedicated territorial emergency management agency.

The existing system – local, regional and territorial emergency management organizations that pop up when needed – “proved ineffective during a large-scale disaster,” TSI stated when its review was released in May.

TSI said a year-round emergency management agency “is essential to reduce fragmentation and provide comprehensive, wraparound support.”

On Thursday, releasing its formal response to the review, the GNWT said that agency will not be created.

“Given the NWT’s small population, limited fiscal and human resources, and the infrequency of large-scale emergencies requiring sustained territorial-level response, a separate agency would be costly, duplicative, and difficult to staff,” the territory stated.

“In particular, maintaining a dedicated agency year-round – despite the episodic nature of emergencies – would not represent an efficient or scalable use of government resources.”

The GNWT said its existing approach to emergency management is “flexible and responsive,” even though TSI had suggested that approach failed the territory in its moment of greatest need.

TSI said people had trouble understanding how the local, regional and territorial groups fit together in the existing system, causing confusion, and it “lacked a coordinated command,” resulting in “duplication, delays, and blurred responsibilities.”

But the GNWT argued its current way of doing things offers “clear governance and accountability” as well as “cost efficiency while maintaining the ability to respond effectively when required.”

Rejecting the prospect of a new, year-round emergency management agency, the territory stated: “While the GNWT is firmly committed to strengthening emergency management across the territory, it must do so in a way that is practical, cost-effective and responsive to northern realities.

“The current structure achieves the goals of coordinated response, operational flexibility, and local empowerment without the additional overhead of a standalone agency.”

Indigenous governments brought into system

All of TSI’s other 34 recommendations were accepted to at least some degree, although many came with caveats. In six instances, the word “agrees” was closely followed in the GNWT’s response by the word “however.”

In some instances, the GNWT accepted recommendations but said they were out of scope. In others, the GNWT said they were someone else’s responsibility or work had already taken place.

One major recommendation that the territory said it fully accepted is to better include Indigenous governments in emergency response.

TSI said Indigenous governments should become full partners in emergency management. In 2023, multiple Indigenous governments complained they had been left in the dark as key decisions were made.

In its response, the GNWT said it was “committed to developing a model to formally incorporate Indigenous governments into the NWT emergency management system.”

The territory said engagement to make that happen was under way.

The GNWT also acknowledged the need for better communication, accepting that residents faced “confusion and uncertainty” in 2023.

Staff are “exploring how to better manage communications” across all platforms, the territory stated in its response, including more effective communication with other levels of government.

In full: Read the GNWT’s response to the review

Among work already completed, the GNWT said it had bolstered staffing to support regional emergency coordination and help communities improve their emergency plans.

The territory said it has updated its territory-wide emergency plan and pointed to the likes of travel conditions website Drive NWT and its annual Be Ready campaign as examples of responses to what happened in 2023.

The territory also said it has worked to:

• better understand who is “essential” in an emergency and communicate that;
• improve how the territorial emergency plan accounts for vulnerable people;
• clearly define which level of government is responsible for what;
• embed recovery planning into emergency management from the outset;
• improve how you register for disaster assistance; and
• plan for how the GNWT keeps running when Yellowknife is evacuated.

TSI, approached for comment, said it had not been made aware of Thursday’s announcement in advance and was taking time to study the territory’s response to its recommendations.

As a contractor hired to produce those recommendations, the work of TSI essentially ended once its review was published. It has no formal role in overseeing or shaping the GNWT’s ongoing response to that review.

Some regular MLAs – who do have that oversight role – previously suggested they may push for a public inquiry into 2023’s events if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the review and the GNWT’s response.

Premier RJ Simpson elected to hold a review despite MLAs formally voting for a broader inquiry as he felt a review was “well-suited” to the task and an inquiry too expensive.

More: Point by point, what the GNWT said about each recommendation

In a statement on Thursday, Simpson said his government was already putting the lessons of 2023 into practice.

The next time a major crisis occurs, Simpson stated, NWT residents “can count on stronger planning, clearer communication and faster support.”

Communities minister Vince McKay stated the territory is introducing “clearer roles and closer collaboration with community governments and Indigenous governments.”

“We are building a system residents can trust when it matters most,” McKay stated. “The GNWT will keep listening, learning, and improving our response with every emergency we face.”