N.W.T. making good progress on conservation goals, auditor general finds

Canada's auditor general says the Northwest Territories government is "on track" to meet its conservation goals.

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada presented its report on conservation areas in the Northwest Territories to MLAs and the public on Friday. It covers the territory's work on this issue from 2016 to 2024.

The report looked at the government's progress in addressing three of the territory's conservation priorities: ensuring long-term funding for conservation areas, strengthening management of protected areas, and establishing new protected and conservation areas.

The auditor general found the territory had made "timely progress" on achieving the goal of ensuring sustainable conservation funding — largely because of the "N.W.T.:Our Land for the Future" conservation agreement signed last year.

The agreement provides $375 million to Indigenous governments in N.W.T. for conservation initiatives, with funding coming from the federal government and private donors.

"This crucial step underscores the government's commitment to implementing an Indigenous-led approach to protected and conserved areas. It will support Indigenous peoples' stewardship of their lands while also helping the territory expand its conservation network," auditor Jerry DeMarco told reporters on Friday afternoon.

The auditor general's report said the territory is also on track to meet its other two conservation goals, although there are issues with the management of Territorial Protected Areas that need to be addressed, including a need for more monitoring to determine how co-management partnerships are working.

Recommendations

The auditors also flagged that many of the territory's hiring decisions related to the management of protected areas were made without input from Indigenous partners, and they recommended that the territorial government change this.

The report also said that the territorial government's continued reliance on short-term federal funding to manage protected areas was a concern, as it lead to many jobs being filled through short-term contracts, resulting in high turnover.

"We heard from Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations that the increased turnover placed a burden on their staff to share their Indigenous knowledge each time a new employee from the government joined the operational team of the territorial protected areas," the report says.

The report also urges the territorial government to work with the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Dehcho First Nations to develop a plan and timeline by the end of 2025 for five proposed protected areas where negotiations are currently stalled.

The territorial government agreed to all recommendations.