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The NWT government has issued what is likely to be its final rejection of calls to establish a new, standalone emergency management agency.
Creating a year-round agency was a key recommendation of an independent review of the NWT’s 2023 wildfires and evacuations.
The GNWT rejected that recommendation, saying a separate year-round agency “would be costly, duplicative, and difficult to staff.”
The current model is a series of temporarily staffed pop-up management groups at local, regional and territorial level, depending on the size of the emergency.
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After the GNWT said no to a new agency, regular MLAs passed a motion in the House urging ministers to reconsider.
While that motion was not binding, it did oblige the territory to respond – and communities minister Vince McKay swiftly tabled a reply last week reiterating that a new agency will not happen.
McKay’s response mostly asserts objections to the recommendation that the GNWT had already stated.
However, the GNWT does use the latest response to promise more transparency about how it tries to strengthen its existing approach to emergencies.
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“To be more transparent and accountable, the GNWT commits to tabling an annual report on improvements to the emergency management system,” McKay’s reply states.
Improvements the territory has pledged – and which are likely to be tracked in those annual reports – include:
- better coordination and communication across local, regional and territorial levels;
- “meaningful collaboration” on emergency planning and response with Indigenous governments;
- more training for elected officials and emergency staff;
- the use of regional coordinators to help communities plan;
- updated guidance for communities;
- a review of the relevant legislation; and
- better supports for vulnerable populations.
The date on which the first annual report about improvements will be published was not specified.
