N.W.T. government outlines familiar game plan for 2nd half of term
No radical policy changes in document tabled this week
The Northwest Territories government plans to stay the course for the second half of its term, outlining a revised mandate this week that reads a lot like the original released in March 2016.
MLAs agreed on the mandate, which outlines the government's goals for the 18th assembly, when it first came out, but with the mid-term review of cabinet set for Oct. 5, the government is revisiting its roadmap.
- N.W.T. legislators head back Tuesday as cabinet faces midterm review
- Traditional Indigenous food in a hospital? That's the plan for new N.W.T. facility
- How successful has the N.W.T. cabinet been? Depends on who's being asked
The introduction section of both documents, however, is nearly word-for-word the same, with the exception of "will" changed to "continue to."
The revisions are really just in the details, with few radical policy shifts — government continues supporting resource development, reducing the cost of living, and protecting the environment.
Some other changes are in the section titled "Cost of Living." In the original mandate, the government pledged to implement "universal and affordable childcare." In the revised copy, that's been changed to "making child care available and affordable."
Another change comes in the section on governance and transparency. The revised mandate says the government wants to increase transparency, accountability and strengthen consensus government "through improved communications."
The line about communications was not included in the first mandate.
The mid-term review and subsequent confidence vote for cabinet as a whole, and for individual ministers is set for Oct. 5.