Board Governance
The NWT Seniors’ Society elected their new Board of Directors on October 21, 2025, at their Annual General Meeting.
Board of Directors
Name
Community
Position
Pat Burnstad
Hay River
President
Martina Norwegian
Fort Simpson
Vice President
Lynda Koe
Yellowknife
Secretary/Treasurer
Betty Tetso
Deline
Director
Mabel Brown
Inuvik
Director
Terese Villeneuve
Fort Resolution
Director
Terry Hawkins
Yellowknife
Director
We are looking for additional members of the Board of Directors from the following communities:
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Fort Smith
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one T’licho representative from the communities of Wekweti, Gameti, Wha Ti, and Behchoko
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and one member from one of the coastal communities in the Beaufort Delta of Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Ulukhaktok
Administration
Mandate
The NWT Seniors’ Society is dedicated to promoting the independence and wellbeing of older adults through advocacy and the delivery of services.
Vision
The NWT Seniors’ Society envisions a society where seniors age well and have choices. Download the full document by clicking the button below.
Strategic Plan
The NWT Seniors’ Society updated the strategic plan in 2023. Our three strategic objectives include:
Objective 1: Safe and appropriate housing for seniors.
Objective 2: Promote good health for NWT Seniors
Objective 3: Promote quality of life for Seniors in the NWT
To review the updated plan, click here.
Download our Charter of Rights & Freedoms here:
Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Older Adults
In the Northwest Territories, the NWT Seniors’ Society promotes seniors’ rights through our charter of Rights and Freedoms for Older Adults. You can download this document by clicking the download button here!
Advocacy Plan
The NWT Seniors’ Society developed an advocacy plan to guide their efforts to address issues and improve quality of life for all seniors over the next three years. Our advocacy objectives are linked to our Strategic Plan and include:
- Advocate for timely repairs and maintenance for seniors, with Housing NWT, independent landlords, and other organizations.
- Advocate to ensure seniors receive appropriate, accessible, high-quality, culturally safe and equitable health and social care.
- Advocate for seniors to have the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, power and heat
To review the plan, click on the PDF button below.
Our advocacy efforts for 2024/2025 include
Focus Area | Actions |
Advocate to ensure seniors receive appropriate, accessible, high-quality, culturally safe and equitable health and social care. | 1. Present to the Standing Committee on Social Development a joint presentation with Yellowknife Seniors’ Society on Real Life Issues Seniors are having with the NWT Healthcare System (August 13, 2025). 2. Present to the Public Administrator, NT Health and Social Services Authority a joint presentation with Yellowknife Seniors’ Society on Real Life Issues Seniors are having with the NWT Healthcare System (September 10, 2025). 3. Facilitate a list of issues to bring to the NWT Legislative Assembly on Medical Travel and the challenges for Seniors (October 22, 2025) |
Advocate for seniors to have the basic needs of food, shelter, clothing, power and heat | Develop a set of “Cheat Sheets” for seniors in the NWT outlining programs, services and benefits available across the NWT in the following areas: · Federal Government Programs for Seniors · Government of the NWT Programs for Seniors · Municipal Government Programs · Non-government Organization Programs for Seniors · Bank Programs for Seniors · Airline Discounts for Seniors · Hotel Discounts for Seniors · Restaurant Discounts for Seniors · Retail Business Discounts for Seniors |
Advocate for timely repairs and maintenance for seniors, with Housing NWT, independent landlords, and other organizations. | Work has begun to request public policy from all housing authorities and organizations across the NWT to review whether policies differ in different regions. To date no housing authority or organization has provided their policies although requests have gone out twice. |
These efforts will continue in 2026/2027.
If you’re interested in the “Cheat Sheets” we’ve developed for NWT Seniors, you can find them here!
NWT Seniors' Society Policies
The NWT Seniors’ Society has been working on Board Policies over the last two years. This is to ensure consistency in how we manage both the governance and operations of the NWT Seniors’ Society.
Policies passed to date by the Board of Directors are listed here and you can view and download each one by clicking on the policy title below.
- Board Governance Policy
- Financial Management Policy
- Human Resource Management Policy
- Media Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Advocacy Policy
- Technology Use Policy
- Reporting Loss of Technology Policy
