Government of the Northwest Territories policies represent our government’s commitment to the public to follow an action or course of action in pursuit of approved objectives.

The policies on this site have been divided into the following categories:

• GNWT Policies approved by and issued on the authority of the Executive Council: Under the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act (s.62), “the Executive Council is responsible for the overall management and direction of the executive government of the Northwest Territories, including matters of policy.” These policies are organized by government department and by policy number. Once a number is assigned to a policy, that policy number will not be reissued even if the policy is rescinded.
• GNWT Policies approved by and issued on the authority of the Financial Management Board: The Financial Management Board (FMB), established under the Financial Administration Act, is responsible for the financial management and administration of government. Similar to the Executive Council, the FMB makes decisions of a government-wide nature in areas such as accounting and budgeting policies, financial administration requirements and program evaluation. More information on the FMB and its responsibilities may be found in Part I of the Financial Administration Act or Section 1102 of the Financial Administration Manual.
• Ministerial Policies: Under the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, Ministers are individually responsible for all matters arising within the departments under their direction. This means that each Minister has the authority to make policy decisions for his or her departments and to oversee the manner in which they are implemented and administered in pursuit of established goals and priorities. The area of authority for each department is defined in its Establishment Policy. Establishment policies for all departments are approved by and issued on the authority of the Executive Council.

The authority of secretariats, boards and territorial corporations may be found in policy, regulation or legislation, depending upon how each was established. For more comprehensive information about the authorities of the Government of the Northwest Territories, please view the Executive Council Submissions Handbook.

The Protection of Privacy Policy can be found here.

NOTES

1. Updates to Ministerial policies are the responsibility of the issuing department(s).
2. All policies are in the process of being translated into French, as per each department's French Language Operating Plan. If you require any information translated into French, please contact the Francophone Affairs Secretariat. For translation into all other NWT official languages, contact the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat.