Environmental Rights Act (SNWT 2019, c 19).

The purposes of this Act are (a) to protect the right of the people of the Northwest Territories to a healthy environment; (b) to provide the people of the Northwest Territories with tools to exercise their right to protect the integrity, biological diversity and productivity of the ecosystems in the Northwest Territories; (c) to ensure that the Government of the Northwest Territories carries out its responsibility, within its jurisdiction, to protect the environmental rights of the people of the Northwest Territories; and (d) to ensure that the Government of the Northwest Territories carries out its responsibility to make environmental information accessible to the public in a reasonable, timely, culturally appropriate and affordable manner.
Any individual resident in the Northwest Territories who believes, on reasonable grounds, that an act or omission has occurred that has caused or is likely to cause significant harm to the environment, may apply to the Minister for an investigation. the Act clarifies the content of the application and the process of investigation. A section is dedicated specifically to prosecution of statutory offences. The Act recognize as well a specific right of action declaring that every adult resident in the Northwest Territories has the right to protect the environment and the public trust, by commencing an action in the Supreme Court against any person for any act or omission that the resident believes on reasonable grounds has caused or is likely to cause significant harm to the environment.
The Executive Council shall prepare a draft statement of environmental values that explains how environmental considerations, including the right to a healthy environment, will be integrated into decisions that might have a significant impact on the environment; in preparing a statement of environmental values the Executive Council may consider the following principles: the precautionary principle; the polluter pays principle ; the principle of ecological sustainability that the integrity, biological diversity and productivity of the ecosystems in the Northwest Territories are to be protected, maintained and restored; the principle of intergenerational equity; the principle of environmental justice; the principle of sustainable development; and any other principles that the Executive Council considers relevant, taking into account the purposes of this Act.