Good, collaborative governance

Collaborative governance is the future of the NWT, and collaboration will be a cornerstone of the GNWT’s approach to advancing the Priorities. We are committed to continuing to strengthen our relationships with Indigenous governments and work in partnership towards a shared future based on a system of cooperative governance. Taking the opportunity to collaborate and align our efforts with Indigenous governments will allow us all to do more for the territory and will demonstrate to Canada and the world what collaborative governance between Indigenous and public governments can achieve.

The GNWT's relationship with Indigenous governments is integral to the future prosperity of the NWT and the following commitments will guide the implementation of the Mandate across all Priorities:

1. Collaborate with Indigenous governments and residents to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;
2. Strengthen government-to-government relationships with Indigenous governments and work in partnership to jointly engage the federal government to advance issues of shared interest;
3. Work with negotiation partners to advance, settle and implement land claim, self-government and other Indigenous rights agreements;
4. Explore options to support Economic Reconciliation through more flexible and streamlined funding arrangements with Indigenous governments;
5. Continue implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry Calls to Justice.

While we work to enhance our collaboration with Indigenous governments and stakeholders, the GNWT will also strengthen collaboration between departments. To best serve residents, we must improve information sharing within and across departments and ensure that programs and policies are designed with a person-centred approach that prioritizes ease of access for residents over ease of administration.

To advance the Priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly and work to fulfill the mandate commitments, we will rely on the public service. The public service is the GNWT’s greatest resource and must be supported and respected within an environment that fosters a sense of purpose and wellbeing and empowers performance excellence and innovation. Our highly trained and dedicated public servants deserve to work in an environment that allows them to contribute to their fullest potential, that values and supports them in providing services with empathy and efficiency, and that encourages and rewards creativity and flexibility. To best support the delivery of programs and services to our residents and the dedicated public servants who deliver those programs, the following commitments will guide the implementation of the mandate across all Priorities:

1. Make programs and services more accessible and integrated through enhanced collaboration across government;
2. Implement approaches to design programs and services in ways that promote and the support self reliance and resiliency of residents;
3. Better streamline administrative processes, policies and legislation across government to enhance the capacity of the public service to work better together;
4. Engage the public service to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, and coordinate processes to support long term fiscal sustainability;
5. Steward the fiscal health and sustainability of the GNWT through ongoing efforts to increase revenues, reduce expenditures, and ensure every public dollar spent serves the needs of residents and communities;
6. Empower the public service by ensuring they are provided the flexibility to deliver programs and implement policies in ways that best serve residents; vii. Honour the GNWT’s commitments to openness, transparency, and accountability by engaging with our partners, the public, and the public service on decisions that affect their lives.