Governance

Commitment 5.3.7 – We will improve opportunities for meaningful public input into government decision making by improving access to government public engagement initiatives and reporting on how public views have shaped government decisions.

The term ‘open government’ reflects a broader emphasis by governments to become more transparent, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Open Government includes three components: open data, open information, and open dialogue. The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is engaged in a number of activities to promote open government, including improving access to government public engagement initiatives.

The Department of Executive and Indigenous Affairs (EIA) is working with all GNWT Departments to develop public engagement guidelines.  These guidelines will also be based on feedback collected through public engagement on Open Government conducted by the Minister of Public Engagement and Transparency from December 2016 to May 2017, and research on open government initiatives of other federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments.

Improving public access to government engagement and decision-making includes providing links to ongoing public engagement activities and opportunities for participation on the Minister of Public Engagement and Transparency’s website (Milestone 1); the development of common principles and approaches to public engagement for GNWT departments (Milestone 2); and the implementation of a common public engagement approach and guidelines for consistently reporting on input gather from the public and explaining how it has been reflected in government decisions (Milestone 3).

Public engagement is not the same as governments’ legal duty to consult Aboriginal peoples on any matters that may impact Treaty and/or Aboriginal rights as set out in Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act.

Related Mandate Commitments

• Commitment 5.3.5 – We will establish an Open Government Policy to enhance civic participation, increase the availability and accessibility of information about government activities, and explore new technologies for openness and accountability
• Commitment 5.3.6 – We will improve public visibility and accessibility of Cabinet by organizing Cabinet meetings in each region of the NWT, holding selected Committee-of-Cabinet meetings in public, and meeting with standing committees in public more frequently.

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