Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on Committee's Initiation of The Ten-Year Review Of The Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act
Scope Of Review
The Standing Committee on Government Operations (Committee) would like to inform the 20th Legislative Assembly and members of the public of Committee's intent to initiate the ten-year statutory review of the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act (the Act) as required by the Act. Committee is in the early stages of its statutory review of the Act and has created a workplan that spans 18 months intending to report back to the House in the Spring 2026 sitting.
Committee will follow Section 10(2) of the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act which outlines the legislated requirements that must be included in the scope of the ten-year review[1]. Committee has created strategies to help action the scope and legislative requirements of the ten-year review of the Act, as described in Appendix A. Some of these strategies may include but are not limited to, briefings from national and international sovereign wealth funds, investment managers, the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, a literature review of academic research on sovereign wealth funds, and a review of investment policies and legislation related to sovereign wealth funds.
Committee's review intends to engage subject matter experts across sovereign wealth funds from other jurisdictions (both nationally and internationally), and other stakeholders who interact with the impact of sovereign wealth funds. Committee has particular interest in examining whether contributions to the fund are sufficient to maximize benefits to residents of the NWT, and how the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund's expenditures can and should be spent. Committee intends to engage members of the public and non-governmental organizations for their input.
It is Committee's plan to prepare a report that makes recommendations to improve the provisions and operations of the Northwest Territories Heritage Fund Act, and its ability to provide benefits for residents of the Northwest Territories. This report will describe Committee's observations after their briefings and research with recommendations to ensure the Heritage Fund is managed to its fullest ability and its operations remain sustainable.