MLAs make recommendations to advance NWT conservation work

A committee of MLAs has made 19 recommendations to the NWT government related to an audit of protected and conserved areas.

The Auditor General of Canada released the audit in May 2025, finding that the territory had made progress on a plan to strengthen its conservation network.

In particular, the audit highlighted the NWT’s role in helping to secure a $375-million deal for Indigenous-led conservation in the territory through a model known as project finance for permanence.

The report did, however, find areas for improvement. It included three recommendations to the GNWT:

• monitor the implementation of co-managed protected areas;
• increase Indigenous representation in hiring processes; and
• develop an action plan and timelines to advance the Dınàgà Wek’èhodì and Dehcho candidate protected areas.

The territorial government agreed to all three recommendations.

The NWT legislature’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts subsequently reviewed the audit.

Range Lake MLA and committee chair Kieron Testart tabled a report on that review in the Legislative Assembly this week.

The report acknowledges the GNWT has “made meaningful progress toward ensuring that the territory is on track to achieve outcomes related to protecting biodiversity and ecological integrity while sustaining cultural practices and economic development for current and future generations.”

The committee also highlighted some challenges outlined in the audit, such as the GNWT’s reliance on short-term federal funding.

The committee made 19 recommendations in its report, including calling for dedicated funding in the territory’s 2027-28 budget, updates, finalized regulations for Thaidene Nëné, and an examination of the historic exclusion of Indigenous peoples from land stewardship and governance.

The committee requested that cabinet respond to its report within 120 days.