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 51)

Thank you. The group met in September, and there was agreement to proceed with that work. So the work is not proceeded -- is not yet started, but there's an agreement to proceed. Thank you.

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

Thank you. So the court system itself is actually tasked with that role, and they're the ones who would appoint legal counsel for the children. So we don't expect an eight-year-old to go and go to the legal aid office and take a number and wait in line and meet with a lawyer. The court would actually make that determination. Thank you.

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

Thank you. So there's a couple of factors there. I don't believe those positions the Member referenced in her community are funded by the Department of Justice. But when looking at whether or not to expand this program, we need to look at how well it's working, and so there is the evaluation that will be undertaken. And we also need to look at available resources. And so right now I believe this is -- was initially 100 percent funded by the GNWT. The federal government did come in in 2023 and contributed 52 percent of the total cost, and so about a 50/50 split with us. We have just learned...

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

Thank you. The department does feel adequately resourced to do that work. Thank you.

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

Thank you. So I have them broken down by calendar year. So in 2025, there have been eight children. 2024, 38. 2023, 34. 2022, 38. 2021, 31. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 50)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I listened to what Premier Ford has to say sometimes, and I wish I was able to say a lot of those same things, but the fact is we don't have that type of economy. We don't have those types of direct exports to the United States to be able to make those types of threats. We're not currently exporting any critical minerals to the United States, and so we're in a much different position. That being said, I'm confident that as Canadians we can come together, and we can both support Canadian businesses and ensure that the Americans are feeling the negative impacts of...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 50)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. we have all heard the news that the President of the United States has decided to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Prime Minister Trudeau has stated that he has initiated counter tariffs on our side of the border and with additional counter tariffs coming in a few weeks, depending on how things go. For our part here in the Northwest Territories, we've directed the NWT Liquor and Cannabis Commission to cease all procurement of American products. We have directed the department to refrain from procuring anything from American companies wherever possible. We're...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 50)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, we've had almost weekly conversations, all the Premiers and the Prime Minister. I actually had to leave the call early to come down to the House today, so we were just meeting. And I don't think there's a lot of nuance in what the President has to say about annexing Canada. I think if you read what he's saying and if you listen to what he says, it sounds like he's serious about it. And I think that people across Canada in all levels of government now realize that, and we need to do what we can to ensure that, you know, we stay united and we stay strong economically...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 48)

There's as many people in the executive hallway now as there were when we started. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 48)

Thank you. I am glad the Member has such confidence that this budget is going to be approved; I appreciate that. And I appreciate the Member's advocacy. I know the Sahtu has the highest cost of living in the Northwest Territories and, you know, we do have a number of programs to fund, you know, food, whether it's funding for a food bank, whether it's funding that goes directly to schools, or whether it's other programs we have that allow for some sort of, you know, food distribution under them. And so we do have a lot of that. We are also engaged with the federal government on the Nutrition...