Legislative Assembly
The Chamber of the NWT Legislative Assembly. Submitted photo
City of Yellowknife
1 min.read

$4.8M in adjustments added to 2017-2018 NWT budget

Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi
By Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi

After much debate and a lot of opposition, approval for the 2017-2018 budget finally seems near.

There was contention between cabinet and regular MLAs over the upcoming budget in recent weeks.

In the legislature Friday on Friday, Northwest Territories Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod announced $4.8 million in adjustments to the budget following long debate and much feedback from Northerners.

RELATED: NWT minister criticizes MLAs’ united stance against budget

RELATED: Yellowknifers protest cuts to Aurora College programs

The adjustments included:

  • An increase to the budget for homecare by $2.5 million.
  • $500,000 in additional funding towards the Anti-Poverty Fund, doubling the fund’s budget after criticism came that it was not meeting its demand. Last year, the fund received approximately $200 million worth of requests for funding.
  • Half a million dollars for a Youth in Crisis program.
  • A $250,000 increase in support for freight costs associated with the fishing industry. On Monday, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment committed $1.4 million to revitalizing the commercial fishing industry in Hay River.
  • $600,000 in increased funding to the Mineral Incentive Program, an incentive program for mining explorations in the territory.
  • $500,000 to increase the Community Access Road Program.

McLeod also said the GNWT will defer reductions to Aurora College’s Bachelor of Education and social work programs until a fundamental review of the college is completed.

RELATED: ‘Why did I even go back to school now?’ says Aurora College student

RELATED: Aurora College not consulted on cuts says former board member

Despite the halt on reductions, the programs will still not be accepting new students.

Several MLAs applauded the adjustments on Twitter shortly after Friday’s announcement. Final vote on the budget is scheduled for Monday.

https://twitter.com/coryvmlayknorth/status/837749939664904192

Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi
Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi

Continue Reading

You may also like



cjcd Now playing play

- Advertisement -

Related Articles

- Advertisement -

Latest News

Hundreds of crew make progress on Decho fires relieved by rain

Fire
Hundreds of crew members co-ordinated aggressive responses to fires in the Dehcho region and along Hwy 1. On Wednesday cooler temperatures and rainfall reinforced long awaited progress by Wildland firefighters.

Shauit’s latest music project joins diverse richness of Indigenous north and south at FOTR

Folk On The Rocks
Shauit says his latest work blends Northern Indigenous and southern Indigenous Latin and African music. The artist is bringing ground-breaking fusions created in collaboration with musicians from Turtle Island’s North, Quebec, Mexico and France to Folk On The Rocks in Yellowknife. “To go to more places that Innu music didn't go before. To show my nation, to show young artists that they can do whatever they want,” explains the artist, who is originally from Maliotenam.

Hay River on roll to another ParticipACTION win

Northwest Territories
The town of Hay River has once again been named a finalist in the 2026 Community Challenge.Just last year, Hay River not only picked up the title of the most active community in N.W.T. but also nabbed $15,000 in prize funding support for local physical activity and sport initiatives. And in 2024, Hay River won the top prize in the national challenge, picking up $100,000 in prize funding.

Crews fighting fires in Dehcho amid extreme conditions and poor visibility

Fire
In the Dehcho region, Wildland crews reported that while some areas remain problematic, direct attack methods on FS016, south of Liidlii Kue and Fort Simpson were effective on Tuesday. In Wrigley, response efforts were overwhelmed by conditions and poor visibility.  In the South Slave region, a wildfire located about 20 km from Hay River has been 90 per cent contained following nearly two weeks of active response.

Intersections across city to see signal and hardware makeovers in next 3 weeks

City of Yellowknife
A series of traffic signal maintenance and hardware upgrades are set to begin Thursday at intersections throughout the city of Yellowknife. The work is scheduled to continue until July 31. City staff said during the three week period, temporary traffic signal interruptions can be anticipated.