Mr. Speaker, the season for planting may still be a long way off but February 23rd was Agriculture Day in Canada and we have much to celebrate and work towards in support of agriculture in the Northwest Territories. I will also speak to the connection between the agriculture industry and efforts to strengthen food security.  

Despite the snow and still frigid temperatures, right now is, in fact, an important time of planning and investment for food growers and harvesters across our country and in the Northwest Territories.

Extended-stay campsites are back for 2021!

In total, 90 extended-stay permits will be issued this year as follows:

The Department of Industry Tourism and Investment (ITI) is reviewing the equity requirements and market disruption clauses of its Support for Entrepreneurs and Economic Development (SEED) Policy.

SEED programs are a key part of the GNWT’s ongoing commitment to invest in a diverse, sustainable NWT economy.

Two companies with advancing mining projects were spotlighted March 23 in the third of a series of Invest Canada North: Post-PDAC Investment Summits.

Speakers from those companies were Don MacDonald, president and CEO of Norzinc, which is preparing to open the Prairie Creek Mine, a lead-zinc-silver operation in the southwest part of the territory, and Keyvan Salehi, who holds similar positions with Nighthawk Gold, a gold-exploration company with extensive land holdings about 200 kilometres north of Yellowknife.

As it prepares to release a new five-year plan to position the NWT’s film and media sector as a nationally competitive and sustainable contributor to economic diversification in the NWT, ITI’s NWT Film Commission looked back last week and celebrated how far the NWT’s industry has come.

Within the limits allowed by COVID protocols, a gala event was held at Yellowknife’s Copperhouse Eatery and Lounge to celebrate the industry and 10 years of film and media in the NWT. Five stakeholder organizations, in particular, were honoured at the event. 

Despite, or maybe because of, the global pandemic, a record number of NWT campers enjoyed NWT Parks further afield last summer including the Dehcho Region’s Blackstone Territorial Park (Blackstone).

NWT Parks in 2020 – by the Numbers

Visitors to Blackstone were welcomed with the sweeping views and breathtaking sunsets over the Nahanni Mountains – and by Mike Gonet, recipient of the 2020 NWT Parks Operator of the Year award.

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe and the need for personal protective equipment became apparent – even in the Northwest Territories, Debbie Purchase, owner and operator of Debbie’s Sewing in Fort Smith, pivoted her small dressmaking business to address a rising demand for facemasks in the NWT. 

An Arctic Drum now stands on the geographical edge of the Arctic Circle 37km outside of Fort Good Hope on the winter road to Colville Lake.

The monument was officially unveiled on Monday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by residents of Fort Good Hope and the Sahtu region.

ITI’s Regional Business Development Officer in the Sahtu Nicole (Nicky) Richards captured the following images of the event.

When you're running a business, time is money - and spending all of it chasing permits and licences isn't going to help your business grow.

That’s why BizPal revamped their entire website; to make it easier to find the permits you need to start, run and grow your business, so you can save time on paperwork and spend more time growing your business.

It was all smiles Monday on the edge of the Arctic Circle as Fort Good Hope residents gathered to cut the ribbon on a truly unique and representative landmark for their region. 

An Arctic Drum now stands on the geographical edge of the Arctic Circle 37km outside of Fort Good Hope on the winter road to Colville Lake. The Sahtu is the only region in the Northwest Territories that intersects with the Arctic Circle by river and winter road.