Northwest Territories auditor finds childcare oversight failures

An audit of the Northwest Territories’ Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) has revealed significant shortcomings in the management of early learning and childcare services. The report, presented to the legislative assembly, found that the territory failed to provide adequate oversight to ensure services were affordable, inclusive, high-quality, and safe.

Key findings include unreliable safety inspections, with 20 percent of licensed facility inspections found to be inaccurate due to outdated risk classifications. In 50 percent of high-risk deficiency cases, the ECE failed to follow up to ensure issues were corrected, potentially putting children at risk. Additionally, the audit noted gaps in financial oversight and a failure to collect sufficient data to measure the effectiveness of recent investments.

Resource allocation was also criticized for being geographically imbalanced. While the territory created 315 new licensed childcare spaces between April 2024 and March 2026, 90 percent of these were concentrated in the North Slave region. This occurred despite data showing that more than 40 percent of children requiring such services live in the four other regions of the territory.

The Government of the Northwest Territories stated it accepts the findings and acknowledged that while progress has been made, further work is required to strengthen the system.