Député de Hay River Nord

Premier ministre
Ministre de l’Exécutif et des Affaires autochtones

R.J. Simpson a été élu à la 20e Assemblée, représentant la circonscription de Hay River Nord. Le 7 décembre 2023, M. Simpson a été élu premier ministre de la 20e Assemblée législative des Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

M. Simpson a été élu par acclamation à la 19e Assemblée législative et élu pour la première fois à la 18e Assemblée en 2015.

M. Simpson a été élu pour la première fois à la 18e Assemblée législative en 2015. M. Simpson a été président adjoint de la 18e Assemblée législative, vice-président du Comité permanent des opérations gouvernementales et président du Comité spécial sur les questions de transition. M. Simpson a également siégé au Comité permanent des priorités et de la planification, de même qu’au Comité permanent du développement économique et de l’environnement.

M. Simpson a habité à Hay River toute sa vie. Après avoir obtenu son diplôme d’études secondaires à l’école secondaire Diamond Jenness en 1998, il a décroché un baccalauréat ès arts à l’Université MacEwan et un diplôme en droit à la faculté de droit de l’Université de l’Alberta.

M. Simpson a précédemment travaillé pour le gouvernement du Canada, la Northern Transportation Company limitée, la section locale no 51 des Métis, et Maskwa Engineering.

Pendant ses études en droit, M. Simpson a été président de l’association des étudiants en droit autochtones. Il a également siégé au conseil d’administration du Centre d’amitié Soaring Eagle, à Hay River, et donne de son temps au projet d’éducation Canada-Ghana.

Committees

R.J. Simpson
Hay River Nord
Bureau

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Boîte
1320
Bureau de circonscription

62, promenade Woodland, bureau 104
Hay River Nord NT X0E 1G1
Canada

Ministre
Premier ministre des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Ministère de l’Exécutif et des Affaires autochtones, Ministre de la Justice

Déclarations dans les débats

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I appreciate the Member's question.

So there's been a lot of focus on the North over the past year and a half, a focus like we've never seen before I would say. There's also a new government in Ottawa. And so there's momentum right now. There's attention on the North. There's a desire to make investments in Canada, build up the strength of Canada, and take advantage of our natural resources. So there's momentum, and we need to keep that momentum going. We need to capitalize on that momentum. We need to keep the NWT at the front of people's minds in Ottawa. I think...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in 2023, we had a contractor to go out and engage the public and talk about how they feel that we communicate with them. And there were issues obviously. Even with things like the website -- in normal times, most searches for government information starts on the website, and so we got a lot of feedback on that. And so we're going through a process of updating that website, and that means looking at all the content that's on there, tens of thousands of pieces of information, reviewing all of those. Writing them in plain language as opposed to using jargon, writing for...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in other jurisdictions in Canada, the Calls for Justice are to highlight a segment of the population that is ignored often and underserved. Here in the Northwest Territories, we're an Indigenous territory, and the policies that we put in place when it comes to health and social services, to justice, they better be focused on addressing those Calls for Justice. That's always at the forefront of our mind. When we -- you know, we're amending pieces of legislation right now to help address some of those issues. So everything we do, we keep that at the forefront of our...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Very important question but very technical. I don't have that level of detail, but this is one where I'm more than happy to provide a written response back to this House and to the Member because I want to make sure that that information is getting out there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that that -- well, I know that that trip to Ottawa with the Council of Leaders really highlighted the importance of having Indigenous voices at the table in Ottawa. We're a small territory. Authorities are disbursed among a number of different bodies and governments and boards. And we're not going to advance unless we work together to advance, and so it is absolutely critical to have Indigenous governments support their advocacy efforts in Ottawa. We all sink or swim together. If an Indigenous government is able to go to Ottawa, get support for something, bring...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so one of the things -- speaking specifically about the website, reorganizing that website is one of the key things that we want to do. Group things by topics and themes that residents care about. So if they want to find something out, they just go to that topic. They don't have to try and figure out what department it's from and then go there. And in terms of the social media, I'm happy to get back to the Member on that one. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, the Member has raised this before and she's well aware that we have had a number of reviews, I guess, in the past number of years here, and so instead of doing another review what's happening is we're looking at those reviews. You know, the past four years, during COVID and the floods and the fires, there wasn't a lot of time for communicators to do that type of background work. They were out there trying to do their best to communicate with ever-changing information. So we're now looking at those two -- or those reviews, doing an analysis of them, and...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm more than happy to table an update in this House. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, yes, the position is new, and we're in a transition period in Ottawa where we had a federal election, now we have a new government who are, you know, trying to find out where their offices are. And so right now, we are educating ourselves, strategizing, but, yes, there have been successes. So the Endacho Healing Society, which is led by Roy and Gina Erasmus -- you probably know them from the Dene Wellness Warriors -- they recently announced that they received $7 million from the Government of Canada, and my office was supporting them through that and that money is...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so that question really gets to integrated service delivery. And so we are advancing integrated service delivery across the territory. We're starting small. Once again. We don't want to try and do this all at once. We want to learn lessons on how we can better work together and better empower employees to make decisions that are in the best interests of residents and aren't administratively burdensome. So we're establishing regional locations in five communities to explore how to reduce the regulatory and policy burden on both the public service and the residents...