1.3.2.5

Description: 
Developing and proposing amendments to the Territorial Parks Act
Lead Dept: 
ENR
ITI
Priority: 
1.3
Parent Commitment: 
1.3.2
Status: 
Fulfilled
Restructured COC: 
Economy and Environment
Number: 
5
Deputy Minister Committee: 
Economy and Environment
Background Information: 

ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Commitment 1.3.2

In order to advance the territorial vision of land and resource management in accordance with the Land Use and Sustainability Framework, we will evolve our legislative, regulatory, and policy systems by:

  • Developing and proposing amendments to the Territorial Parks Act.

There are three kinds of parks in the NWT:

  1. Those that have been created for recreational use and tourism;
  2. Those dedicated to conservation; and
  3. Those dedicated to cultural and heritage sites.

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) needs to separate the regulation of recreational and tourism activities in the NWT from conservation-based regulation.

Protected Areas Legislation

The GNWT has been promoting the use of territorial legislation to advance candidate areas.

A factor in advancing these candidate areas is to demonstrate that territorial legislation can meet the expectations and management objectives previously identified for candidate areas. Preliminary discussions with Indigenous Governments and Organizations suggested that the Territorial Parks Act does not meet current conservation needs and that the GNWT must be able to designate parks that meet modern goals and demands.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) is currently in the process of developing new protected area legislation that will help protect biodiversity and allow for the permanent protection of proposed areas. (milestones 1 and 3).

Territorial Parks Act

Amendments to the Territorial Parks Act will be made as part of standalone protected areas legislation being led by ENR.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) will work together to recommend required consequential amendments to the Act. 

ITI will continue to have authority over recreational and wayside territorial parks, as well as existing park operations.

Proposed changes to the Territorial Parks Act are an example of work we’re doing to evolve the NWT’s legislative and regulatory framework.

Related Mandate Commitments

  • Commitment 1.2.7 - We will expand tourism options and provide high quality public facilities by:
    • Expanding and modernizing our parks infrastructure and signage.
    • Improving road side facilities along remote highways.
    • Building new parks such as Doi T'oh Territorial Park in the Sahtú Region.
  • Commitment 1.3.1 – Using the Land Use and Sustainability Framework to be clear and transparent, we will:
    • Finalize and implement the Conservation Action Plan in order to finalize existing candidate protected areas.
    • Establish Thaidene Nene Park