NWT asks for residents’ feedback on MMIWG action plan

The territorial government will hold community meetings to receive feedback on its draft action plan to address calls for justice regarding missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Dates of meetings and a copy of the draft action plan are available from the NWT government’s website. Written feedback can also be sent to the GNWT by email.

“Over the coming months, the GNWT will engage with Indigenous governments, community governments, other partners, people with lived experience and all NWT residents to seek feedback on existing and new programs and services, planned improvements and new initiatives to address the Calls for Justice,” the territory wrote in a statement.

So far, three community meetings have been scheduled and publicized.

They will take place in Fort Resolution on July 4, the Kátł’odeeche First Nation on July 5, and Hay River on July 6.

The territory’s 150-page draft action plan, titled Changing the Relationship, was released in December last year.

The draft details 93 actions the territorial government plans to take to address colonialism and racial and gendered discrimination in its departments, agencies, and policies.

Outcomes listed in the plan include improving the territory’s relationship with Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people by establishing trust and accountability and focusing on person-centred services. 

Actions in the plan address calls for justice focused on culture and language, health and wellness, human security, and the justice system. Some of the work is already under way, like plans to develop a managed alcohol program, build a permanent wellness and recovery centre, provide cultural awareness and sensitivity training, and support land-based activities such as the take-a-kid-trapping program.

Other actions in the report include promoting Indigenous worldviews, cultures, and languages in schools; Indigenous recruitment and retention; establishing patient advocates in Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Smith, and Yellowknife; a suicide prevention and crisis response network; a medical detox program; and missing persons legislation. 

The July commencement of community meetings marks a slip in the territory’s original timeline.

The GNWT initially said it hoped to engage people with lived experience between December 2021 and March 2022 and complete a final action plan by June 2022.