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 , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report progress, and, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

By approving this revolving fund, apparently we have freed up $4 million that the GNWT was subsidizing the airport, too, and apparently it is going to bring in a few million. We have got an $8 million swing here. I see the Minister is unwilling to spend any of that to keep the airport open to solve the situation where people find themselves locked out in the middle of winter in Yellowknife with no money and nowhere to go, so I have a free solution for the Minister. I have an old metal barrel. Will the Minister let me put this barrel somewhere on the airport property so that travellers can...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I believe it was the last of the questions I asked on the last day of our last sitting, and it was about the Yellowknife Airport hours of operations. Just to refresh everyone's memory, sometimes when people are en route to Hay River, they fly through Yellowknife. If a flight gets in late, at midnight, one in the morning, then they assume they are going to be staying at the airport until they can check in at four in the morning, but what happens is the airport closes for those three and a half hours? I asked the Minister before; this is the third time I will be asking...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and welcome back. I would love to say it is great to be here, but right now I empathize with the kids who are back in school after their summer vacation. That is not because I do not love the work we do in this beautiful Legislature; it is just that Hay River is such a beautiful place to be in the summer.

You know, if you are a geologist or someone else who just loves rocks, then I am sure Yellowknife is a great place to be in the summer, too. Personally, I love Hay River's lush greenery, spending hot days on our long stretches of sandy beaches, watching eagles fish as I...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

I will now rise and report progress.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. What work has the department done on the liability issues surrounding kicking people out of a government building in the middle of the night when there is really nowhere around where they can go where there is some warmth? Has the government looked into any of those types of issues? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Winter is coming up quickly. These rocks in Yellowknife don't absorb much heat, so when it gets cold, it gets really cold. So that people do not get locked out in the middle of night in the middle of winter, can the Minister commit to at least keeping a portion of the airport open overnight, with or without security?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 76)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize a resident of Hay River, the woman whose shirt matches my tie, my mother, Bette Lyons, and I want to wish her a happy birthday. Thank you.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 75)

Maybe someday, I guess. The Minister also mentioned the Department of Infrastructure is working with carriers on new or expanded routes. I know airfare and air travel into Hay River is a major issue. Can the Minister confirm whether or not the Department of Infrastructure is working on bringing new air carriers into the Yellowknife-Hay River route or perhaps working on a route from Yellowknife to Edmonton that stops in Hay River?