NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (October 22, 2025) – The Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) is warning residents about the recent detection of a dangerous drug combination in the Northwest Territories. A drug seizure of a beige powder on September 11, 2025, in Hay River has tested positive for carfentanil, cocaine, and phenacetin by a Health Canada laboratory.

FORT SIMPSON (September 4, 2025) – The Chief Public Health Officer is advising residents of Fort Simpson and Dehcho Region of very high-risk readings in some areas due to local wildfires, changing winds and weather patterns.

YELLOWKNIFE (August 28, 2025) – The Chief Public Health Officer is advising residents that the North Slave and South Slave regions are experiencing fluctuating air quality, with very high-risk readings in some areas due to changing winds and weather patterns.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (July 21, 2025) –The Chief Public Health Officer advises the public that two new substances of concern have been detected in in Yellowknife’s wastewater (See Wastewater Monitoring in Yellowknife, below) – isotonitazene and xylazine. The substances were identified in the most recent National Wastewater Drug Surveillance (NWDS) report for the Yellowknife site, which used data from May 2025.

TSIIGEHTCHIC (June 27, 2025) - The Chief Environmental Health Officer is advising all residents in the community of Tsiigehtchic that the precautionary Boil Water Advisory has been lifted.

Residents who receive their water from the Community Government of Tsiigehtchic were asked to boil their water due to higher than normal turbidity (muddy water).

There have been no illnesses associated with drinking water reported in the community.