2025 Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly—Protected and Conserved Areas in the Northwest TerritoriesOpening Statement to News Conference

Jerry V. DeMarco, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development—23 May 2025

Good morning, and thank you for joining me. I’m Jerry DeMarco, Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. I am pleased to be here today on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada to discuss our office’s audit report on protected and conserved areas in the Northwest Territories, which was tabled earlier today by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

In this audit, we examined whether the Government of the Northwest Territories was on track to strengthen its conservation network, which aims to protect environmentally and culturally important land and inland water. This is an important goal to help the territory sustain the long-term health of its natural environment, conserve biodiversity, preserve cultural practices, and contribute to equitable economic development.

Our audit focused on 3 of the territorial government’s priorities under its 2023 to 2028 Healthy Land, Healthy People work plan. These priorities are securing sustainable, long-term funding for conservation initiatives; strengthening the management of protected areas; and establishing new protected areas. We found that the government had made progress in all 3 areas.

The government worked collaboratively with Indigenous governments to establish a long-term financing agreement for Indigenous-led conservation activities. This crucial step underscores the government’s commitment to implementing an Indigenous-led approach to protected and conserved areas. It will support Indigenous people’s stewardship of their lands while also helping the territory expand its conservation network.

While long-term funding has been secured to support Indigenous-led conservation efforts, the audit found that the Department of Environment and Climate Change had not secured permanent funding for its own activities to manage protected areas. This limited the government’s ability to provide stable staffing and other resources to support conservation efforts and collaborate with Indigenous groups.

We found that the department was still developing more effective and equitable systems for managing existing protected and conserved areas. However, the department needs to monitor the implementation of co‑managed protected areas. It also needs to increase Indigenous representation in hiring processes.

The audit also found that the government still needs to develop a plan of action and timelines to expand the conservation network in the Dınàgà Wek’èhodì and Dehcho regions.

The Northwest Territories has already protected nearly 16% of its land and inland water, which compares favourably to the approximate 14% across all of Canada. Nevertheless, the territory has great potential to expand its conservation network far beyond current levels in support of territorial, national, and global biodiversity goals. With long-term funding now in place to support Indigenous-led conservation, it is important that the territorial government prioritize achieving its other objectives to expand the conservation network.

To close, we would like to extend our deep appreciation to the Indigenous governments and Indigenous organizations that generously shared with us their insights, perspectives, and experiences about land protection and conservation. We were welcomed on their lands and were introduced to government officials, organization representatives, and community members. Máhsı.

Thank you for your attention. I am now ready to answer your questions.