Lesa Semmler

Députée d’Inuvik Twin Lakes

Ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux

Lesa Semmler a été réélue à la 20e Assemblée législative des Territoires du Nord-Ouest après avoir été députée représentant Inuvik Twin Lakes à la 19e Assemblée. Mme Semmler a été élue au Conseil exécutif de la 20e Assemblée législative des Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

Mme Semmler est née à Yellowknife (TNO) et a grandi à Inuvik (TNO), où elle réside encore aujourd’hui.

Mme Semmler a obtenu son diplôme d’infirmière autorisée dans le cadre du Programme d’études en soins infirmiers dans le Nord du Collège Aurora en 2000 et son attestation d’infirmière en santé communautaire de l’Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada en 2008. Elle a décroché son certificat en leadership du Collège de Vancouver en 2012 et son certificat du programme de perfectionnement en leadership du gouvernement des Territoires du Nord-Ouest et de la School of Business de l’Université de l’Alberta en 2016.

Pendant 15 ans, Mme Semmler a été infirmière autorisée de première ligne à l’Hôpital régional d’Inuvik, où elle s’est concentrée sur les soins de courte durée, les soins à domicile et la santé publique. Elle a également travaillé pendant un an au Service de santé publique à Yellowknife, et a été gestionnaire du service de soins de courte durée à l’Hôpital régional d’Inuvik, puis gestionnaire régionale des soins de courte durée après la fusion avec l’Administration des services de santé et des services sociaux des TNO. Plus récemment, elle a travaillé pour la Société régionale inuvialuite à titre d’intervenante pivot du système de santé pour les Inuvialuits, aidant les bénéficiaires inuvialuits à s’orienter dans le système de santé.

De 2012 à 2015, Mme Semmler a siégé au conseil d’administration de l’Administration scolaire de district d’Inuvik, dont elle a assuré la présidence de 2015 à 2018. Durant cette période, elle a également été présidente du Conseil scolaire de Beaufort-Delta.

Mme Semmler a également été membre de nombreux groupes de travail aux niveaux territorial et national, tels que le Conseil inuit d’éradication de la tuberculose, l’initiative de revitalisation des services de sages-femmes inuites et Hotii ts’eeda (Stratégie de recherche axée sur le patient des TNO). Elle a par ailleurs été membre de la Société régionale inuvialuite ainsi que de nombreuses autres initiatives liées à la santé.

En outre, Mme Semmler s’est portée volontaire à titre de membre du Cercle conseil national des familles de l’Enquête sur les femmes et les filles autochtones disparues et assassinées. Elle a ainsi eu l’honneur de prendre part à cet événement historique traitant du passé des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, œuvrant à ce que toutes les voix du Nord soient entendues et représentées dans le rapport final.

Mme Semmler aime lire, réaliser de petits projets de rénovation et faire de la motomarine dans le delta du Mackenzie avec son mari pendant l’été.

Elle est mariée à Jozef Carnogursky, son partenaire depuis 25 ans. Ils ont deux enfants, Jozef et Myja.

Committees

Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Bureau

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Boîte
1320
Bureau de circonscription

125 Mackenzie Rd
Unit 203
Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
Canada

P.O. Boîte
3130
Ministre
Ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux

Déclarations dans les débats

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 53)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, the health and social services does operate the sobering day shelter which acts as an emergency shelter at night; however, there are many other facilities in Yellowknife that are NGOs that run their facilities. Those things that I don't have as most of the shelters do not fall under just the shelter -- the sobering centre. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 53)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Health and Social Services that does oversee this temporary day shelter, they do have policies; however, I don't have those policies in front of me to be able to go through them and respond to that question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 8th, will be International Women's Day, and I stand before you as an Indigenous woman - a mother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a wife, now as a Member of this Legislative Assembly and, most importantly, a grandmother. I am deeply grateful for those remarkable women who broke the trail before me and many women in this House, those who faced countless challenges and paved the way for our future generations. Their strength and resilience inspire me every day.

This year's theme, Accelerate Action, resonates profoundly with us in the Northwest...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by acknowledging the immense grief and pain that these families and communities are experiencing. Losing a loved one is always heartbreaking. And when that loss is sudden and unexpected, the pain can be even deeper. I want to extend my sincere condolences to those affected and recognize their understandable need for answers, accountability, and meaningful change if necessary.

I completely understand the desire to know what happened, why it happened. I completely understand that, the desire to know why it happened and, most importantly, what we as a healthcare system...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the motion on the floor that asks for non-medical escorts to accompany patients on ground and air ambulance and highway rescue vehicles and also a policy for this, one of the areas is for significant safety reasons, emergency medical transport do not support non-medical escorts to accompany patients. In emergency medical transport, the priority is to provide care to the patient. This is not intended to be insensitive to the family or loved ones; however, it's important for safety reasons. Emergency medical transports are unable to accommodate non-medical...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I apologize, yes, we live in a small community and we know each other by first names.

Right now it's actually just in the works, and the teams are working on it. And what I'm hoping to have is something to share to all MLAs because dental is not just in our region; it's -- people are travelling from all regions and they will need accommodations. So it will go out to all MLAs. It will go out on my social media, and I encourage MLAs to do that as well. And as the plan comes up, I will share with the MLAs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I -- as I've been recently briefed, it seems that Yellowknife is experiencing a rise in tourism right now and which is putting additional pressure on an already strained system. NTHSSA is working with its partners right now to identify solutions on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to just speak to the on-the-land camp a bit, I'm not going to delve into -- this falls under EIA so the -- although health didn't put money into it, there was federal dollars. This was all through -- for homelessness so that fell under EIA, to be clear.

As to the Member's question, there are currently -- health is not going to be putting any on-the-land camps anywhere in any of the communities. What we do do, though, is, we've heard loud and clear, and I've said this many times in the House, is that we are providing funding to Indigenous...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, I hear what the Member is raising, you know, I think, but what we're looking at is what the things that are covered that are insured services that have been -- and it's not just here. It's across Canada. There are a standard of things that are covered, what are covered under insured services. These are core services. And then there's other things that would be considered cosmetic and those -- the process -- I can't tell you how the process goes when it's in between patient and doctor. I mean, I can find out the information as to how that process works and...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 51)

Mr. Speaker, vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect residents and communities from serious diseases. Today vaccine hesitancy and misinformation are weakening trust in the science and public health. As a result, vaccination rates are declining, leaving residents, especially elders and children, vulnerable to preventable diseases. Right now, Canada is seeing more cases of influenza, measles, and pertussis (whooping cough). The NWT is not immune to these trends.

Measles vaccination rates among two-year-olds have dropped from nearly 90 percent in 2019 to just over 82 percent in...