The NWT government says residents have until May 21 to comment on the territory’s draft action plan for implementing the UN Declaration.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Implementation Act – passed in 2023 – required the territorial government to work with Indigenous governments to produce an action plan within two years.
That deadline passed in October 2025 with no plan tabled, for which the GNWT has been criticized, though Premier RJ Simpson has said he is “not the boss of the Indigenous governments who are on the action plan committee.”
The draft since created by that committee and published by the GNWT contains actions like:
- bringing Indigenous governments into emergency management;
- designating departmental UN Declaration officers;
- amending legislation to ensure “full alignment of territorial laws and policies” with the UN Declaration;
- creating a “new approach” to traditional camps and cabins on public land, and a new cabin tax policy;
- protecting water quality (though how is not specified);
- making healthcare more culturally safe and recruiting more Indigenous healthcare staff;
- improving housing and offering more teacher housing;
- expanding the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program;
- amending child and family services legislation; and
- better promoting recognition of traditional names for places.
“This engagement is not intended to renegotiate action items that were developed through government‑to‑government collaboration and consensus,” the GNWT stated on its page for public comment.
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Instead, the territory stated, “public input will be used to help identify areas where additional explanation, clarification, or context may be needed as the Action Plan is finalized.”
Once the plan is finalized, the GNWT says it will provide “ongoing updates and regular public reporting as actions advance and implementation continues over time.”
