Another audit points to poor monitoring of N.W.T. gov't programs. Some MLAs say it's time to fix that

Sarah St-Pierre · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 6

The auditor general's latest study successful the N.W.T. again highlights a persistent contented for the territorial government: mediocre oregon inadequate monitoring of immoderate of its programs and agencies. 

And immoderate MLAs accidental it's a occupation that tin beryllium fixed, with effort.

Last week’s study from the auditor wide of Canada recovered that Housing N.W.T. was doing lone constricted monitoring of lodging allocation, truthful it could not find if those astir successful request were being prioritized. The audit besides recovered that the lodging corp was not pursuing its ain requirements to support tabs connected the authorities of lodging units and did not show the outcomes of its homeownership programs. 

There person been six auditor wide reports connected the N.W.T. authorities implicit the past 7 years. All of them incorporate astatine slightest 1 notation of insufficient monitoring, though astir of them incorporate more. 

For example, an audit study from 2022 determined that territorial wellness and societal services bodies did not cognize whether their addiction services were effectual due to the fact that they did not measurement outcomes. A 2018 audit of Child and Family Services recovered that absorption and monitoring of plan-of-care agreements was worse than what the erstwhile audit had recovered successful 2014.

For Housing N.W.T., monitoring was besides an contented highlighted successful 2 earlier audits, successful 2008 and 2012.

This modular lodging portion is an illustration of Housing N.W.T.'s residences. (Housing N.W.T.)

Paule-Anny Pierre, with the bureau of the auditor wide of Canada, said that if programs are not being tracked to find whether they're gathering their objectives, past it's not wide whether payer wealth is being good spent.

“But bigger than that, it's individuals who bash not afloat payment of the results that we were trying to achieve,” Pierre said.

Not a caller problem

Pierre said programme monitoring is not conscionable an contented successful the N.W.T. She said each levels of authorities crossed the state conflict to cod the close information to measure their programs and that it's astir often a question of capacity.

Wendy Bisaro, who was an N.W.T. MLA from 2007 to 2015, said the committees she was a portion of could person done amended to travel up connected audits.

“But there's conscionable not a batch of time,” Bisaro said. “I conjecture that's benignant of what it comes down to.”

'People tin beryllium harmed if a definite caller argumentation is not monitored to spot whether oregon not it's working,' said erstwhile N.W.T. MLA Wendy Bisaro, seen present successful 2015. (Chantal Dubuc/CBC)

Bisaro stressed that due monitoring of programs is nevertheless important.

“People tin beryllium harmed if a definite caller argumentation is not monitored to spot whether oregon not it's working,” she said.

That harm, she said, could beryllium financial, physical, mental, oregon social. 

She recalled however immoderate of the lodging corporation's past policies had fto immoderate radical autumn acold down successful their rent payments, and that caused immoderate to suffer custody of their children oregon beryllium incapable to get a portion large capable to suit their family. That argumentation was aboriginal fixed, she said.

Unresolved tension

MLA Shauna Morgan argues that often erstwhile national backing becomes disposable for a large portion of infrastructure oregon an ambitious program, determination tin beryllium a unreserved to use — and that means the monitoring constituent isn’t ever fleshed out.

“Because that national wealth and attraction is going to vanish — and we often don't person the resources to really bash the implicit travel through,” she said.

Morgan said different contented is erstwhile the territorial authorities funds section organizations oregon different governments to present programs oregon services. She said determination tin beryllium a hostility betwixt the territorial government’s work to support them accountable and their valid tendency for autonomy. 

Shauna Morgan is the MLA for Yellowknife North. (Julie Plourde/Radio-Canada)

“We haven't yet travel to presumption with this tension,” she said. “I deliberation that is thing we request to commencement addressing directly."

Morgan said determination needs to beryllium accountability from section organizations, but the territory besides has to marque definite they person the resources they request to bash what they person committed to. 

Resolving that hostility could assistance not conscionable bring “true accountability,” she said, but could besides marque authorities programs much effectual and meaningful.

“Because if we person much information and recognize wherever things are failing astatine a section level, oregon not working, that's erstwhile you tin measurement back, bespeak and alteration it to bash thing better,” she said.

Fixing things

Since 2023, the Legislative Assembly's lasting committee connected nationalist accounts' sole work has been to spell implicit fiscal statements and auditor wide reports. 

MLA Kieron Testart, who chairs the committee, said that portion helium hopes the committee volition marque a difference, determination besides needs to beryllium alteration successful the departments specified arsenic self-reporting to amusement they instrumentality audits seriously.

Kieron Testart is the MLA for Range Lake. (Allister McCreadie/CBC)

He besides said helium would similar to spot incentives to execute for authorities ministers.

“Why not accidental your wage is going to beryllium tied to however galore audit recommendations you successfully implement?” Testart said.

He besides acknowledged that deficiency of resources is an issue. In the lawsuit of the latest lodging audit, helium said Housing N.W.T. doesn’t conscionable request to alteration immoderate of its processes, it besides needs an influx of caller resources. 

“It's not problematic people,” helium said. “It's astir problematic systems and however we hole those systems.”

Since the auditor general's study was tabled, Housing N.W.T. says it has already started to enactment connected its recommendations.

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the corp confirmed that it is reviewing its monitoring process, has launched a caller physics strategy to way maintenance, and is moving toward implementing caller documentation requirements "to marque the process just and transparent for everyone."

Housing N.W.T. has besides created a caller presumption to pb the ceremonial valuation of its programs. The corp has hired idiosyncratic for the relation and expects they volition commencement successful January 2026.