Indigenous leaders and leaders from the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) held the fourth meeting of the Northwest Territories Council of Leaders (NWTCOL) over three days from September 27-29, 2022, in Yellowknife.
Leaders discussed a range of NWT-wide matters of mutual interest related to social and economic issues, including:
• continuing to advance work on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples through the work on the memorandum of understanding and moving forward with the legislative framework discussions;
• continuing to advance legislative initiatives included in the GNWT Legislative Agenda for the 19th Legislative Assembly, including identifying social, economic and cultural GNWT legislative initiatives for collaborative development with Indigenous governments;
• discussing the need for proactive approaches to adapt to the effects of climate change in the NWT;
• working collaboratively to support economic opportunities that will help ensure the Northwest Territories’ social and economic situation is improved despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and the decline in resource extraction activities; and
• outlining NWT Council of Leaders key priorities for the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, Budget 2023, and federal engagement.
The NWTCOL forum offers members the opportunity to discuss territory-wide social and economic matters that are of interest to all member governments and work towards solutions. The NWTCOL continues to be a productive forum and an example of meaningful partnership between the Indigenous and GNWT leaders, consistent with the principles of reconciliation.
