Member Frame Lake

Mr. Morse was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to represent the constituency of Frame Lake.

Mr. Morse grew up in Yellowknife and graduated from Sir John Franklin High School. He studied political science and economics in undergrad, has a diploma in environment and natural resources technology from Aurora College, and a master’s degree in conflict analysis & management from Royal Roads University.

Mr. Morse has a diverse professional background, including ten years’ experience working in the NWT’s regulatory system. He has worked as an environmental technician, policy analyst, executive director of an NGO, and constituency assistant at the Legislative Assembly. He has also worked a variety of trades and labour positions over the years, including a season working on the Snowking’s snow castle construction team. He is licensed to operate commercial watercraft, and works as a zodiac driver and polar bear guard for an expedition cruise company in the summer.

His dedication to public service extended to a two-term tenure as a city councillor in Yellowknife, where he worked from 2015 to 2022. He served on the board of directors for the Yellowknife Housing Authority from 2021 to 2023.

In his spare time Julian enjoys various outdoor activities, and has extensively explored Great Slave Lake in his sailboat. He is an avid hunter, and has participated in expeditions for moose, caribou, and muskox across the varied landscapes of the Northwest Territories.

Prior to his political career, he contributed to the Boards of Folk on the Rocks and the Somba K'e Paddling Club. In his personal life, Julian shares his home with his girlfriend Rhiana and their pets – Beatrix, the dog, and Loki, the cat.

Frame Lake Electoral District:

Committees

Julian Morse
Frame Lake
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Thank you, and I appreciate your indulgence, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister has highlighted exactly the problem that I'm trying to raise today, and that is that we do not have a regulated counsellor and psychotherapist under the Health and Social Services Professions Act. Will the Minister commit to investigating the potential for regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists and report back to the Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, just following up on that response, I heard a "should" but that doesn't sound like a requirement to me. So can -- first of all, can the Minister just clarify for the House about that; is that a requirement or is it simply a recommendation? Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the NWT, a number of health care professions are regulated under the Health and Social Services Professions Act. Psychologists were regulated under this act in 2022 for example. Meanwhile, counselling and psychotherapy are not yet a regulated profession in the NWT, and I have been approached by practitioners with concerns about the lack of a regulatory body to these professions here.

Anyone in the NWT can currently offer counselling or psychotherapy services without any formal education or training as long as they are not claiming to be a psychologist or...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 17, Municipal and Community Affairs Statutes Amendment Act.

Bill 17 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on February 10th, 2025 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations for review. The standing committee completed its clause-by-clause review of the bill with the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs on April 22nd, 2025.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I hope that this is simply a clarification of the second question as opposed to my third. But I simply say that the Minister said that -- something along the lines of counsellors under one of their programs -- I can't exactly remember which one off the fly -- but should register with a regulatory body. I was trying to determine if that is a requirement or simply a suggestion. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think my statement spoke for itself earlier.

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of health. Has the health department done any work to date on regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists under the Health and Social Services Professions Act that they can report back to the Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I am happy to rise to recognize the dedicated volunteers of the therapy dog program in the Northwest Territories.

The therapy dog program, overseen by St. John Ambulance, provides comfort, companionship, and emotional support to individuals in need. Certified therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers visit various community settings. These furry friends offer unconditional love and attention, helping to reduce feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and stress. In particular, the therapy dogs can offer a calming presence and companionship, especially for...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I chose to take a bit of a different approach to negotiating the budget this year. I've spoken a lot to the need for increased funding going towards housing in this territory, and we discussed that a fair bit during the vote on the capital budget, which I voted against because I didn't feel that we had gone far enough, and as I said at the time, my issue was with the word "notional." If we had removed the word "notional", they would have had my support. Well, the result of our negotiations at this budget where notional has been removed from the plan to fund...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Frame Lake constituent Yvonne Quick, who received the King Charles III Coronation Medal. This medal, which was awarded in recognition of Ms. Quick’s remarkable legacy and career in Canadian aviation and her dedication to northern tourism is a testament to her incredible dedication and support of the aviation and tourism industries in the Northwest Territories. I am honoured to acknowledge Ms. Quick, a true northern icon, for this achievement and thank her for her dedication to and love of the North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't think there's much disagreement in this room about the problem that is trying to be solved through implementation of this new policy. In fact, I haven't heard any disagreement about that, the problem of underrepresentation of Indigenous persons in the public service.

So to give a little bit of history on this, the department during the last term of the Assembly went out and did engagement with the public on changing the affirmative action policy and fixing the issues that are at hand. What came back was quite complex. It produced a lot of results...