This fonds consists of records documenting the activities of the Department of the Executive in the functional areas of leadership of the GNWT and support to Cabinet, oversight of the GNWT’s regional operations, indigenous and intergovernmental relations, human resource planning, and gender equity. There are also records from the Audit Bureau and the Bureau of Statistics, as well as publications and records of several special projects undertaken by the department.

Government leadership

Records from the Directorate include meeting minutes, correspondence, and other materials from interdepartmental Deputy Ministers’ committees, including the Social Agenda and the Committee for Aboriginal Rights, as well as meeting materials for the Department of the Executive Senior Management Committee, the Special Joint Committee on Non-Tax-Based Community Affairs, and the Special Committee on the Implementation of Self-Government and the Sunset Clause, and the Public Committees, Boards and Councils Handbook. There are also transcripts of meetings of the Electoral Boundaries Commission held in several NWT communities in 1989 and community reports, meeting minutes and files pertaining to community transfers generated by various regional GNWT departments throughout the NWT, including Sachs Harbour, Paulatuk, Tuktoyaktuk, and Arctic Red River (now Tsiigehtchic).

Records from the Cabinet Secretariat include minutes, agendas, and other materials from interdepartmental Deputy Ministers’ committees, including the Division Review Committee. There are also reports commissioned by the Corporate Review and Transition Project in 2002-2004, along with departmental responses to the review and recommendations. Files from the Protocol section document the 1994 Royal Visit and 2004 Deputy Commissioner's swearing-in ceremony.

The fonds includes chronos of the Government Leader/Premier and the Deputy Minister/Secretary to Cabinet, originating from both of the above divisions. There are also chronos of ministers holding various portfolios, particularly from the Minister of Renewable Resources, and files containing correspondence between officials of the Executive and the federal government.

Records from the Corporate Communications division include Senior Management Committee records, Deputy Ministers' Steering Committee on Trademark and Copyright Policy records, GNWT-wide communications plans and strategies, workshop material, related job descriptions, records relating to the Visual Identity Program, and briefing binders.

Records from the Legislation and House Planning division include Cabinet House Strategy and session preparation files, briefing materials for MLAs, legislative agendas and files related to the development of legislation, materials from the Legislation and House Planning Committee, and results of the Legislative Review Survey conducted by the Division Review Committee in preparation for the creation of Nunavut. The records date from the 11th through to the 15th Legislative Assembly.

Records from the Priorities and Planning Secretariat relate to GNWT policy and program development, land claims issues, parks development, Constitutional development, decentralization and natural resource projects. Some of these records are meeting minutes, correspondence and records of decision produced by the Priorities and Planning Committee, a committee within the secretariat which reviewed initiatives, policies and programs before they were put before the Executive Members and the Executive Council as a whole. There is also a report from the Program, Policy and Planning Division entitled "Government as Communicator."

Records from the Executive Secretariat date from 1967-68 and consist of copies of the transfer guideline documents concerning the formal transfer of responsibilities to the Government of the Northwest Territories and a copy of a Task Force Report on the organization of the Northwest Territories Public Service.

Regional operations

Records from the Regional Operations division consist primarily of minutes from settlement and hamlet meetings in the Mackenzie Delta, Western Arctic, Baffin and Great Bear Lake regions, monthly reports from regions and specific communities, minutes of regional council meetings, and records from regional associations such as the Keewatin Organizational Committee, Regional Management Committee in Inuvik, and the Inuvik Regional Health Board. There are also files relating to resource development projects, including the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, Nanisivik Mines, Polar Gas Project and Beaufort Delta Oil Project.

Records from the Corporate Services Division are primarily from the Keewatin Region and consist of minutes of meetings from the Executive Committee, Regional Director's Meetings, Annual Management Meetings, Senior Management Committee Meetings, various hamlet meetings and board meetings. Furthermore, there are minutes from the following Regional Councils: Baffin Regional Council, South Slavey Regional Council, North Slavey Regional Council, Deh Cho Regional Council, Shihita Regional Council, Kitikmeot Regional Council and the Keewatin Regional Council. There are also files relating to Commissioner's Tours and Ministerial Tours of the Baffin and Keewatin Regions. Records from the Finance and Administration section consist of policy and planning files and records relating to Regional Decentralization.

In addition, the fonds includes files containing correspondence from Regional Administrators concerning the administration and implementation of the Liquor Ordinance and alcohol abuse problems at Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit). There are also reports dating from 1971-1973 about the community of Port Burwell and the Kennuayuak Association .

Aboriginal affairs, intergovernmental relations, and strategic planning

Records from the Aboriginal Rights and Constitutional Development Secretariat and its successor, the Ministry of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, date predominantly from 1974-1996. These records relate to land claims, including the Inuvialuit (COPE), Dene/Metis, Sahtu, Gwich'in, Tlicho, Deh Cho, Denesuline, Makivik, Hay River Dene, and Treaty 8 organizations, and the creation of Nunavut. The records also document self-government by Indigenous groups (including the creation of the Western Arctic Region Municipality (WARM) or Western Arctic Regional Government (WARG)), constitutional development (including involvement with the Constitutional Alliance and Western Constitutional Forum), intergovernmental relations, and devolution of airports, land, water, and resource management from the Federal government (see also Office of Devolution).

The fonds also includes newsletters and reports created by the Aboriginal Rights and Constitutional Development Secretariat and Equal Employment Directorate. The newsletters consist of 10 issues of Building Blocks, and discuss varied issues of devolution and compensation. There are three reports on equal employment, dating from the mid-1980s.

Records from the Office of Devolution date from 1993-2014, documenting negotiations between the GNWT and federal government over the devolution of lands and resources and implementation of the devolution agreement. Records include correspondence, committee records, briefing materials, reports, and communication plans.

Records from the Strategic Planning division and its predecessor, Intergovernmental Relations and Strategic Planning (IGRASP), include briefing packages, minutes, and other materials related to a variety of meetings and projects. These include meetings between the Premier and federal ministers, other Premier meetings, Intergovernmental and Arctic Circle meetings, and the Deputy Ministers’ Senior Management Committee, as well as planning materials for the National Aboriginal Women’s Summit (NAWS II). There are records from the Boards and Agencies review in 2004-2006, including meeting minutes, agendas, reports, drafts, and interviews with departments and agencies. Also included are files on the Living History Project, a project to reflect and celebrate NWT progress since the Berger Inquiry, and one file which outlines the activities and strategies of the Social Envelope section in 1997-1998. There are also files related to departmental policies and a proposed reorganization of intergovernmental affairs functions.

Human resource planning

Records from the Personnel Secretariat Division include reviews of personnel policies, reports on conferences, workshops and seminars, files on employment equity, the decentralization of the Highway Transport Board and Liquor Licensing Board and several files on the restructuring of various GNWT departments.

Records from the Corporate Human Resources division comprise annual reports on the Affirmative Action Policy for the GNWT, an evaluation report and guidelines for the Northern Graduate Employment Program, reviews of staffing services and employee benefit administration at departments and agencies, and a file relating to the creation and organization of the division.

Women’s Advisory

Records from the Women’s Advisory include reports, decision papers, briefing notes, correspondence, and policy statements documenting the roles and responsibilities of the Women’s Advisory, its relationship to the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, the restructuring of the Women’s Advisory in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the 5-year Action Plan on Equality for Women, and the implementation of Gender Based Analysis. There are also reports from the Status of Women Committee and from organizations funded by the Women’s Advisory, including the Status of Women Council, the Native Women's Association, the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association and the Women's Community Action Team.

The fonds also contains two audio reels dating from 1974-1975, including a panel discussion on the Status of Women as a lead up to the International Year of Women (1975) and an NWTCC board meeting discussing housing, waste management, air transportation, and business/government relations.

Audit Bureau, Bureau of Statistics, special projects and publications

Records from the Audit Bureau consist of audit files for various Hamlets, Hunters and Trappers Associations and craft shops, as well as files relating to Audit Committee Meetings, Manager's Reports and organization charts.

Records from the Bureau of Statistics include population statistic and projection reports, Yellowknife apartment surveys, spatial price surveys, food price surveys, personal income statistics, labour force surveys, census results, a report on interprovincial/territorial trade and a business directory. It also includes an incomplete collection of volumes of the Statistics Quarterly, from volumes 1 through 26.

Also in this fonds are records generated by the History of Education Project that was undertaken by Norman McPherson and resulted in a book on the history of education in the Northwest Territories (Dreams and Visions: Education in the Northwest Territories from the Early Days to 1984). The records consist of original files and copies of reports from schools in many communities throughout the Northwest Territories, as well as copies of transcripts from oral history interviews.

There are also eight audiocassettes and a fifteen page summary report of a Traditional Knowledge Elders gathering held in October of 1993 at Fort Providence.

The fonds also includes a small group of miscellaneous documents and reports relating to auditing, management, cross-cultural training, the Beaufort Sea Drilling Program, and research subject headings.

This fonds consists of approximately 1.32 meters of textual material from the Department of Public Works.

The material from the Policy and Planning Division includes material related to the departmental Establishment Policy and Northern Preference Policy. In addition, there are files related to ministerial tours of the communities, senior management meetings, Minister's speeches, energy policy, operations divisional meetings, annual reports to the Commissioner, devolution framework documents, and transfer of responsibility (i.e. health services) options. The bulk of the material is dated between 1975-1991 and consists of minutes and agendas from Director's Meetings, Manager's Meetings, Staff Meetings, Systems and Computer Services Review Meetings, Micro Computer Users Group Meetings, Priorities and Planning Committee reports, organization charts from the department and reports on petroleum products and the liquor commission.

The material from the Energy Management Division relates to energy conservation and includes a draft program outline and energy audit information.

This fonds consists of textual material, graphic material (photographs - col. prints), cartographic material (maps), moving images (helical scan video reels and Umatic videocassettes), sound recordings (audiocassettes), and microfilm reels. The textual material consists of transcripts of a meeting between the Oblate Fathers from settlements throughout the Mackenzie District and the Department of Local Government. The discussion involved the transfer of responsibilities from the Northern Administration Branch to the Government of the Northwest Territories in 1967. The bulk of the textual material contains records dating from 1967-1986. These records relate to the development and management of hamlets, towns, and communities across the Northwest Territories. They include details on services such as water and sanitation as provided and managed by the Department of Local Government, as well as files related to the Northwest Territories Municipal Association and departmental policies and initiatives, including recreation. Approximately 60 cm of the textual material consists of bound minutes from Pine Point Council Meetings that were held from 1969-1986, as well as financial statements from the community of Pine Point. In addition, there are files concerning the development, implementation, and operation of the Arctic Airports program, including position papers and reports created by Transport Canada with comments from GNWT officials, as well as reports, recommendations and minutes of meetings from the Airports Committee, a discussion paper concerning the development and implementation of the Arctic Air Facilities policy, and ongoing correspondence and planning documents.

The microfilm reels contain records dated between 1967-1973 from the Central Registry file system and contain files from the following program areas: Directors Monthly Meetings (11 block); Policy Files (13 block); Administration (20 block); Municipal Affairs Division (21 block); Development Division (22 block); Town Planning and Lands (24 block); Recreation (25 block); Emergency Measures Division (26 block) and Employment Liaison Division (29 block).

The maps are line transparency plans from the Town Planning and Lands Division of the Department of Local Government. Communities represented are: Arctic Bay, Broughton Island (Qikiqtarjuaq), Cape Dorset, Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Enterprise, Fort Franklin (Deline), Fort Providence, Hall Beach, Hay River, Igloolik (Iglulik), Paulatuk, Pond Inlet, Rankin Inlet, Resolute Bay, Sachs Harbour, Sanikiluaq, Snowdrift (Lutsulk'e), Trout Lake, and Wrigley. The 13 microfilm reels from the Town Planning and Lands Division contain settlement drawings for the following communities: Fort Simpson, Tuktoyaktuk, Yellowknife, Fort Providence, Fort Rae, Fort Resolution, Fort Smith, Spence Bay, Snowdrift, Stagg River, Alexander Falls, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Fort Norman, Pine Point, Rankin Inlet, Sachs Harbour, Banks Island, Aklavik, Baker Lake, Hay River, Igloolik, Cambridge Bay, Holman Island, Enterprise, Gjoa Haven, Nahanni Butte, Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Edzo, Morphy, Fort Franklin, Frobisher Bay, Port Harrison, Fort Good Hope and Hall Lake. There are also 7 land use planning maps which relate to Fort Simpson, Pine Point, and Enterprise.

The 2 Umatic videocassettes contain footage of James Washee, a Minister of Local Government, discussing Community Ordinance legislation. One recording is in English and one recording is in Inuktitut. Also included in the accession are eight reels of helical scan video. These appear to be related to local government conferences.

The sound recordings consist of 24 audiocassettes that contain recordings from an Economic Development Conference held in 1979 that featured speakers such as John Todd, Bertha Allen and Stuart Hodgson. In addition, eight of the audiocassettes contain recordings of the Pine Point Council Meetings from 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. One meeting from each year was retained as a sample.

Finally, this fonds includes approximately 40 cm of publications and reports from 1967-[1988]. The majority of the material consists of published community development plans. There are also water and sanitation reports, water and energy conservation papers, airport maintenance manual, comparative studies between municipalities in the NWT and those of western provinces, and a report of a committee on the future of Inuit hunting camps. Also notably included is a public discussion paper on devolution.

This fonds consists of records from the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs that were created when it was a division within the Department of the Executive and from the Self Government Division, Ministry of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. The records include policy development files and procedures related to self government cost sharing, formula financing, and grants and contributions, strategic planning documents, files related to organizational structure of Aboriginal Affairs Division and reorganization when it separated from the Department of the Executive and became its own entity, a devolution framework agreement including a Memorandum of Understanding between Aboriginal Affairs and Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), and self-government negotiations frameworks distributed to GNWT Departments. There are also meeting minutes and work plans from Director’s Meetings, Deputy Minister Meetings, Senior Management Committee Meetings, Premiers Chronos, Premiers speeches, Ministerial and Deputy Minister Chronos, Ministerial Briefing Notes, and Briefing Notes for the Intergovernmental Core Group, which included DIAND and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

There are also records related to the negotiation of self government and land claims agreements including files concerning the Inuvialuit Land Administration Agreement, Inuvialuit land claim, Makivik negotiations, Dogrib self government, Beaufort/Delta self government, as well as a file related to amendments to the NWT Act and intergovernmental forum process planning meeting. In addition, there are records related to the implementation of the Nunavut Final Agreement.

The bulk of the records were created by committees and working groups where Aboriginal Affairs was the lead agency or represented the GNWT on Federal Committees. There are committee records from the following: Devolution Working Group, Community Transfer Committee, Operational Review Committee, Traditional Knowledge Interdepartmental Working Group that addressed Traditional Knowledge within the Ministry, Federal/Territorial Core Group that dealt with constitutional reform, land claims and devolution, Constitutional Development Steering Committee, Ministerial Committee on Aboriginal Rights (CARS), Constitutional Affairs Committee Working Group, Federal/Territorial Special Joint Committee on Internal Relations, and the Services Review Committee that reviewed GNWT services to Aboriginal people. The Ministry chaired this committee that also included DIAND and Dene Nation. In addition, files related to the Dene/Metis Land Claim negotiations were kept including correspondence and committee work (Inherent Right Committee) on negotiating the Agreement in Principle between the GNWT and Dene Nation.

In addition, there are records from workshops and meetings that were funded and organized by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs including Land Claims Implementation interjurisdictional workshop, Dene Nation and Metis Nation Annual General Assemblies, and Northern Leaders Conference that was organized by the Ministry in order for stakeholders such as Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement (COPE), and Dene Nation to discuss and have input into Bill C-48 (Canada Oil and Gas Act), as well as devolution issues. There is a memorandum of understanding on Devolution of Power and Authority to the GNWT from Canada with the involvement of the Dene and the Metis.

The remainder of the records relate to committee and working groups that Aboriginal Affairs would have monitored and provided expert advice such as submissions for the Land Claims and Self Government interface, Territorial Interest Working Group, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Self Government discussion paper, Provincial/Territorial Treaties and Self Government Working Group, Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, Nunavut Implementation Committee, and Wright Report on Devolution. There is also one file regarding the NWT Supreme Court Decision regarding the Indian Land application by Chief Francois Paulette.

Records include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, plans, and other materials related to the implementation of the Nunavut Final Agreement and the creation of the territory of Nunavut. Many of the records relate to boards and agencies involved in the implementation of the agreement, including the Nunavut Implementation Panel, Nunavut Implementation Training Committee, and Transition Teams for the Nunavut Planning Commission, Nunavut Water Board, and Nunavut Impact Review Board.

Records include terms of reference for Committees-of-Cabinet and associated Deputy Minister committees and an agenda, minutes, and meeting materials from the Deputy Ministers' Devolution Committee.

Records include files related to devolution and the transfer of responsibilities relating to Arctic 'A' Airports from the Federal to the Territorial Government as well as departmental interaction with Transport Canada. Records also consist of briefing notes and ministerial correspondence with the Director's Office. There are also records that relate to Aviation Studies, Arctic Airports Management Team, Arctic Airports Staff Meetings, Arctic 'B' and 'C' Airports Steering Committee, Senior Management Committee, Airports Training Committee, Departmental Management Group. Additionally records include files related to Airport Planning, Emergency Services, Municipal Administration Certification Group (MACP), Advisory Committee Northern Development (ACND), Northern Air Transport Association (NATA), Airport Operations Sub-Committee, and the Air Navigation Sub-Committee. Records also include project files related to the Rae/Edzo Community Planning Report, the Engineering Site Report for development of the airstrip at Snowdrift (Lutselk'e), and the Arctic Airport Master Plan for Pine Point. The photographs date from the 1970s and document airstrip construction in various Northwest Territories communities.

This accession contains correspondence concerning the establishment of the Northwest Territories Court of Appeal and its opening session on October 18, 1960.

Records document the relationship between the Lands Administration division and the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NWTPC) following the transfer of the Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC) to the GNWT and the creation of the NWTPC. Records include turnover agreements (including information regarding property descriptions and land status, block land transfer information, and recommendations regarding licensing), correspondence, and copies of draft agreements.

This fonds consists of approximately 14 metres of textual records, 1226 b&w and colour photographic prints and slides, 31 audio recordings, and 1 film. Records detail the period just before and inclusive of Stuart Hodgson's term as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories (1967 to 1979), the move of government to the Territory, and the changes in government overtime, including the decentralisation of Territorial Government and the move to Local Government. The fonds also includes some documentation in his later work as Chair of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission, BC Ferries, and BC Transit. Records include professional and personal chronos including his entire tenure as Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, as well as correspondence specific to relations with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (and its later iterations), personal correspondence, public and legislative addresses, issue files during his tenure as Commissioner, planning for Royal visits, Commissioner and Legislative Balls, the NWT Centennial, Arctic Winter Games, community tours, day timers and diaries.

This accession consists of records from the Policy and Planning division of the Department of Renewable Resources, including a functional inventory of the Government of the Northwest Territories and reviews and responses to policies, strategies, initiatives, and guidelines.

This accession consists of textual records from the Department of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Policy and Planning division of the Department Renewable Resources, and Policy, Legislation and Communications division of the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development related to the devolution of natural resources from the federal government and the Division of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The records include correspondence, briefing material, draft Memorandum of Understanding, a draft accord, "Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Footprints 2: A Second Comprehensive Report of the Nunavut Implementation Commission" and other responses, a division implementation plan, material from the Division Secretariat, and legal opinions.

Records include publications related to devolution, reports on brainstorming sessions of the Joint Project Management Team, meeting packages of the Devolution Deputy Ministers' Steering Committee, minutes and meeting packages from meetings between the GNWT and the federal government, and other materials related to the implementation of devolution.

Records include J.I. Glick's personal correspondence, political correspondence and ephemera, and passports. Also included are recordings of radio programs on topics of interest to Glick, namely Northern issues and the Progressive Conservative party.

Records relate to Commissioner's tours, transfer of responsibilities from the federal government, and transfer of responsibilites to Hamlets.

Records include material related to ministerial tours of the communities, senior managers meetings, operations divisional meetings, annual reports to the commissioner, devolution framework documents, and transfer of responsibility (i.e. health services) options.

Records date from 1989-1996 and relate to the Community Transfer Initiative.

Records relate to the Community Transfer Initiative and the transfer of responsibility of maintenance programs by the department.

Records date from 1988-2001 and mainly regard community transfer initiatives to devolve airports and other department assets to communities, primarily those in the eastern Arctic. Also included are department strategies regarding territorial division.