NWT Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Poll

What do you think of our unique system of consensus government?

The current system works well and should be retained.	11%
Consensus government works but minor changes are needed for it to prosper.	45%
Consensus government is a nice idea but would require significant changes to make it more effective and accountable.	29%
Consensus government is ineffective and impractical.	8%
The NWT should change to a party system.	8%

NWT Chamber looks forward to BIP talks

January 29th, 2009

Earlier today the Government of the Northwest Territories announced it is proposing changes to the Business Incentive Policy (BIP) and has committed to consulting with the NWT Chamber of Commerce ahead of finalizing this initiative.

According to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment the proposed changes have been developed to address three key issues related to the current policy: a lack of competition on major projects (over $5 million) in the NWT; concern from NWT community governments that the BIP is undermining their authority over government funding they receive for operations, and; an identified need to strengthen support to NWT resident-owned small businesses. Additional changes will also be considered to bring the policy in line with more recent GNWT formats.

The NWT Chamber Board welcomes the opportunity to open this latest round of discussion on the BIP, said Ann Marie Tout, President of the NWT Chamber of Commerce.

“While we haven’t yet had a chance to look at the impact the territorial government’s proposed changes would have on our current membership, I’m glad the GNWT is planning to consult with the Chamber on this further and we look forward to those talks,” said Tout. “Our organization wants to see the BIP continue, but at the same time we have long held it is in need of improvement to ensure it functions properly.”

In association with the network of community Chambers of Commerce in Fort Simpson, Behchoko, Norman Wells, Fort Smith, Hay River and Yellowknife as well as the Northern Aboriginal Business Association, the NWT Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of more than 865 members. For more than 35 years, it has been the only pan-territorial voice of businesses across all sectors of the Northern economy.

Comment on this article

Comments: