George Nerysoo

Member Mackenzie Delta

George Nerysoo was first elected as a Member for Mackenzie Delta in September 2023 for the 20th Legislative Assembly. Mr. Nerysoo was born in Fort McPherson and returned to his hometown after living in Inuvik and Aklavik for almost 20 years.
 
Mr. Nerysoo attended Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik and completed studies in business administration at Aurora College.
 
Mr. Nerysoo is an active community member, always keen to volunteer and participate in community events, especially sporting events. Mr. Nerysoo is also active at the regional level, being chosen several times as the Fort McPherson delegate for the Gwich’in Tribal Council Assembly.
 
Prior to be elected, Mr. Nerysoo held the position of Deputy Mayor with the Hamlet of Fort McPherson. He has also been employed as the Acting Band Manager with the Tetlit Gwich’in Band Council, and prior to this worked several years on the Louis Cardinal Ferry.
 
In his spare time, Mr. Nerysoo enjoys staying physically active by walking as well as exercising with other community members. He also enjoys quality time with his two children and granddaughter.
 

Committees

Accountability and Oversight
Social Development
Economic Development & Environment
George Nerysoo
Mackenzie Delta
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143

Statements in Debates

Member’s Statement 240-20(1): Public Housing Crisis for Indigenous People
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 21)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the mid 1960s, the Executive Council was in place to somewhat govern the people of the Northwest Territories. The majority of residents were of Indigenous descent and lived a traditional lifestyle.

This socalled government decided to intervene on our independence and our strength as a nation. It stated that they wanted to make our lives for comfortable and convenient, so they started building public housing units. The Gwich'in people, who did not want their lifestyles changed, but the government officials were persistent in bettering our lives. Now fast forward to the...

Committee Motion 13-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates, Deferral of Labour Development and Standards – Education, Culture and Employment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 21)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So is the money still there? Can it be used in the future when Arctic College decides to use it for the language program? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 13-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates, Deferral of Labour Development and Standards – Education, Culture and Employment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 21)

Okay. The Indigenous language revitalization, was that sunsetted, or can you bring some clarity to that? Because revitalization is very important in our Indigenous languages and seeing something, a drastic cut in that measure needs some clarity. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 12-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): 2024-2025 Main Estimates, Deferral of Education – Education, Culture and Employment, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 21)

Well, that's fine. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Committee Motion 9-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): Main Estimates 2024-2025, Deferral of Department – Health and Social Services, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I too feel it is important that this senior management position be located somewhere outside of the city of Yellowknife. I come from a region where language is in dire need of revitalization. The Gwich'in language is one of the hardest languages to learn, and it's the least spoken language within the Northwest Territories, Indigenous language. We're losing our language at a fast pace. Our elders are we're losing our elders at an equally fast pace too so they're taking this language with them. We have a few knowledgeable people, such as our translators back there, that do...

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This particular subject or issue of concern is has a great deal to do with myself and the Northwest Territories as a whole. I've seen, witnessed, a lot of clients going out to the southern regions to get treatment, and I applaud them, and I encourage them. Just yesterday coming back from the Mackenzie Delta, I saw one of my constituents on his way to Toronto and I wished him well, and I hope that, you know, he gets the counselling that he wants and deserves. But coming back from a southern institution and coming back into the community where you see all your friends and...

Question 230-20(1): Outcomes of Productive Choices
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister commit to reporting on the outcomes of productive choices that clients take, how many clients on the productive choices move forward to school or finding work? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 230-20(1): Outcomes of Productive Choices
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've made a few statements on income support, and I was shocked to hear that my riding of the Mackenzie Delta has two times higher than the Northwest Territories, which is 7 percent. And in my riding, it's up to 15 percent. My main goal is to try and get these clients off of income support and on to being productive members of their respective communities.

Mr. Speaker, the department used to provide annual reports on income assistance, but these reports are no longer not publicly available anymore. Can the Minister commit to provide income assistance annual reports...

Member’s Statement 227-20(1): Income Assistance – Reduction of Dependence
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 20)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to discuss the issue that income support clients in my riding, the Mackenzie Delta, are two times higher than the rest of the NWT. What is happening in my riding, Mr. Speaker, for so many people to be on income assistance and how is the government responding to this?

The purpose of income support, as stated in the policy manual, is to help people to become independent and selfreliant. Unfortunately, it does not appear that income assistance in the Mackenzie Delta is helping people become independent. What we see is that once people start, they do not...

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

Okay, thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the Minister for the response. This is just really more of a comment. Having the success of these clients that return from the treatment centres is a responsibility of not only the client, him or herself, but also the families. The family requires counselling because they have to adapt to these changes that this individual is trying to make, and also the community. It affects everybody. It affects us all here as MLAs and as Ministers, the Premier, and everybody. It affects all of us. One person that is struggling with alcohol has an impact on all of...