In final sitting, N.W.T. MLAs to discuss capital budget, evacuations and pass about 'a dozen bills'

N.W.T. MLAs have a long list of tasks to complete during the final sitting of the 19th Assembly which starts on Wednesday, and was postponed last month amid the territory's unprecedented wildfire season.

Nomination period for this fall's territorial election begins Oct. 16

Luke Carroll · CBC News · Posted: Sep 27, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 27, 2023

NWT Legislative assembly building — The N.W.T. Legislative Assembly in Yellowknife in 2021. The 19th Legislative Assembly will begin its final sitting on Wednesday. MLAs are expected to discuss the wildfire evacuations, the capital budget and pass any final bills. The election cycle is scheduled to begin on Oct. 16. (Sara Minogue/CBC)

N.W.T. MLAs have a long list of tasks to complete during the final sitting of the 19th Assembly which begins Wednesday.

The sitting comes during a historic wildfire season that saw over 70 per cent of the N.W.T.'s population flee from their homes at some point over the past four months.

"Despite the delay and the emergency, [the] fall sitting is first and foremost always about the capital budget," said Rylund Johnson, Yellowknife North MLA.

He added, along with the capital budget, there are "about a dozen bills" that still need it to make it through third reading. These include the proposed Forest Act, and amendments to the Liquor Act and the BDIC Act.

"I think we will probably pass more pieces of legislation in this sitting than we have in any other," Johnson said.

The sitting is scheduled to last until Oct. 5, but Johnson says the session will continue until everything is complete. The nomination period for the upcoming election doesn't officially begin until Oct. 16, meaning the current assembly can still work until then, he said.

"We'll have some late nights and if we need to keep sitting until it's all done then that's what we'll do," Johnson said.

The current sitting was initially scheduled for mid-August but was delayed as a result of the wildfires. An emergency sitting was held in Inuvik in late August, where MLAs decided to postpone the election to November, and provide more funds to the firefighting budget.

A few people sit in a meeting room, with a video screen at the front of the room. — An emergency sitting of the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly was held in Inuvik on Aug. 28. MLAs voted then to postpone this fall's election until November, and to increase this year's budget for firefighting. (Dez Loreen/CBC)

What members will prioritize

Richard Edjericon, the MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh, says he is going to prioritize attempting to get support for his constituents who were affected by the wildfires.

He says Fort Resolution in particular acted as an unofficial evacuation centre for a lot of displaced residents and the community had to take on the financial burden.

"Because of that, they're going to be asking to get some of this money back from the territorial government," he said.

Edjericon also said the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Fort Resolution used their own funds to do FireSmart work and said he would be pushing the department of Municipal and Community Affairs to help reimburse them for that work.

This is a subject Ron Bonnetrouge, the MLA for Deh Cho, said he would also prioritize, including how the territorial government can help communities build fire breaks.

He said in an email to CBC News that he also wants to find out what the N.W.T. government will be doing to help Enterprise rebuild.

Caitlin Cleveland, the MLA for Kam Lake, said in an email she will be focused on holding the government accountable on the recent evacuations as well as advocating for supports for private industry.

Shaped by emergencies

The tenure of the N.W.T.'s 19th Legislative Assembly has been shaped by emergencies. The current MLAs were voted in just before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

Along with the pandemic, over the past few years N.W.T. communities dealt with destructive flooding and this year's devastating wildfires.

Jane Weyallon Armstrong, MLA for Monfwi, says the past few years have been difficult.

"But I know that at the end we all manage and work together. Working together makes a big difference," she said.

"Even though we don't all agree with each other ... because we are consensus government, at the end of the day we all have to decide."

The territorial election is scheduled for Nov. 14. CBC News reached out to all 19 MLAs on Tuesday to ask who would be running for reelection.

Incumbents who confirmed to CBC News they are running:

Ron Bonnetrouge, MLA for Deh Cho
Katrina Nokleby, MLA for Great Slave
Richard Edjericon, MLA for Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh
Lesa Semmler, MLA for Inuvik-Twin Lakes
Caitlin Cleveland, MLA for Kam Lake
Frederick Blake Jr., MLA for Mackenzie Delta
Jane Weyallon Armstrong, MLA for Monfwi
Jackie Jacobson, MLA for Nunakput
Frieda Martselos, MLA for Thebacha (previously confirmed with CBC News)
Caroline Wawzonek, MLA for Yellowknife South (previously confirmed with CBC News)
Diane Archie, MLA for Inuvik-Boot Lake (previously confirmed with CBC News)

Incumbents who won't be running: