ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE 

Commitment 1.1.13 – We will support small communities by enhancing job-creation programs, building community capacity and supporting new economic opportunities, by:

• Establishing a committee with Cabinet Ministers and Regular Members on rural and remote communities.

The Committee on Rural and Remote Communities was established by the Executive Council (Cabinet) on September 28, 2017 (Milestone 1). 

The Committee’s mandate is to:

• provide advice to Cabinet to help ensure that initiatives and activities of government address the unique needs of rural and remote communities in the NWT;
• provide critical comment and advice to Cabinet regarding coordination of ongoing initiatives that affect rural and remote communities;
• provide advice on programming, from the perspective of rural and remote communities;
• provide advice on the priorities related to policy or program review, from the perspective of rural and remote communities; and
• request research or analysis on matters affecting rural and remote communities.

The Committee has nine members, consisting of Cabinet Ministers and Regular Members, and is co-chaired.  The Committee met for the first time in October 2017 (Milestone 2).

Related Mandate Commitments

• Commitment 1.1.13 – We will support small communities by enhancing job-creation programs, building community capacity and supporting new economic opportunities, by:
• Updating the Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) programs as necessary to better align with the needs of NWT entrepreneurs and businesses, including those in small communities.
• Implementing the Economic Opportunities Strategy.
• Enhancing the Small Communities Employment Support Program.
• Developing and implementing a strategy to increase employment in small communities that guides the delivery of territorial programming and includes a performance measurement plan.
• Commitment 2.2.1 – We will implement the Education Renewal and Innovation Framework by:
  • Expanding the NWT distance learning pilot project to increase access for NWT senior secondary students in all communities.
• Commitment 3.1.1 – We will continue to implement northern solutions for northern housing by:
  • Implementing community based housing property management services in rural and remote communities to improve service levels.
• Commitment 5.3.10 – We will do a better job of making our residents, particularly those in smaller communities, aware of available government programs and services, and how to access them, through Single Window Service Centres and our Government Service Officers.

For more information about this initiative, please contact the Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.