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Overview

In the Northwest Territories (NWT), the majority of public lands are governed by two territorial laws:

• The Northwest Territories Lands Act
  Authorizes the territorial government to manage land. This law is identical to the federal law that was in place before the 2014 devolution.
• The Commissioner’s Land Act
  A territorial law that existed prior to devolution and is designed to manage public lands primarily around communities.

Now that these two laws are under a single government authority, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) wants to:

• Harmonize the provisions of the Northwest Territories Lands Act and the Commissioner’s Land Act to standardize their application;
• Improve the clarity of legislative authorities;
• Update legislation by removing or amending outdated terminology or provisions;
• Reduce operational barriers to land administration;
• Ensure that legislation takes into account current practices, standards and risks;
• Clarify the rules for land users and be transparent about them.