Member Range Lake

Kieron Testart was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to represent the constituency of Range Lake.

Mr. Testart was born on March 22, 1985, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was raised in the Northwest Territories, first residing in Tuktoyaktuk and later in Yellowknife, where Mr. Testart now lives with his family, his diverse background and wealth of experiences have shaped his commitment to community development and effective governance.

Mr. Testart was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Kam Lake in the 18th Legislative Assembly, where he demonstrated a keen understanding of the issues facing his constituents. Beyond his legislative roles, Kieron has contributed significantly to the economic development of the region. Serving as the Director of Economic Development for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation from 2021 to 2023. Mr. Testart’s commitment to education and language advocacy is evident in his role as Program Coordinator for Canadian Parents for French from 2020 to 2021. His efforts have extended to policy analysis within the Government of the Northwest Territories and serving as Deputy Sheriff from 2009 to 2014.

Academically, Kieron holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Lethbridge (2004-2009) and a Certificate in Parliamentary Governance from McGill University (2017).

Married to Colleen, he is the proud father of Corbin, Eve, and Leander. In addition to his professional pursuits, Kieron finds joy in various hobbies and interests, including a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport, a love for film and theatre, grassroots activism, and an avid curiosity about international affairs.

Kieron's commitment to community extends beyond the political realm. As a dedicated volunteer, he has been actively involved in various capacities, including serving on the NWT Federal Liberal Association Board of Directors since 2011, contributing to the Liberal Party of Canada. His volunteer experience also includes a position on the NWT Branch Board of Directors for Canadian Parents for French from 2014 to 2020 and mentoring youth with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada in 2014-2015.

Range Lake Electoral District

Committees

Kieron Testart
Range Lake
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So under the partner contribution funding, it's $460,000, and it's provided to them NWT Association of Communities, the Local Government Administrators of the NWT organization, and the Arctic Energy Alliance. I understand the contributions to LGANT and NWTAC. Can you explain the nature of the contribution to Arctic Energy Alliance. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mean, that's concerning, and it's concerning to volunteers who are working in ground search and rescue, and it's more concerning to people who might get lost and need ground search and rescue.

Mr. Speaker, at the very least, can we improve -- can we ensure there's consistent recording of data? Because there's not. This data's lost year on year. We don't have a central repository. Can we at least start to implement some of these things that are low cost options like a central repository for search and rescue data. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you. No, I appreciate the honesty there. And as I said previously, that's exactly where I want the department's focus to be, so I'll just continue to encourage the Minister to reach out, and we'll continue to work on this. There's other ways to move public policy forward in our system, including working with Regular Members. I'm happy to provide whatever support to the department to make this initiative a success and, again, to tax and regulate what's already going on, keep people safe, fund the fight against addictions, and bring some much-needed revenue into government coffers....

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am alleging that the Honourable Premier broke Rule 3.2(3)(i) and Rule 3.2(3)(j); the first being imputing false or hidden motives to another Member and the latter being charges another Member with uttering a deliberate falsehood.

Mr. Speaker, I've had the chance to review the live feed of our proceedings earlier today, and to quote from the Premier's speaking to the point of privilege raised earlier this morning, and I quote: And from this side of the floor, this post appears to be a continuation of the spreading of...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you to the Minister for that. I am appreciating the collaboration on this.

Now just so that the public's aware, this could be worth as much as 7 to $8 million of additional revenue for basically turning on a switch, a regulatory or legislative switch, with no cost to the taxpayer. And that's revenue, again, that could be used to deal with any matter of things. Of course, there are some social issues related to gambling in any jurisdiction, and these revenues could be used to address some of that in addition to providing much needed supports to other programs. In the Minister's...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too will stand in support of this motion. Last year in October, we put aside the business of this House to have an emergency debate, which is not common practice for us, about this very issue, the humanitarian crisis in the Sahtu. It is with some regret that I support this motion because I would hope we wouldn't need to bring forward -- the Member wouldn't need to bring forward yet another call for a state of emergency in his riding and in a regional centre of the Northwest Territories. We have to do a better job of caring for the people of Norman Wells.

I...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 47)

I'll conclude my saying I would support any of those costs, even if it means shifting other priorities or making adjustments to infrastructure for whatever, whatever it takes, because this emergency management system, you know, needs the resources it needs to be effective. We know that things are going to get more difficult in future years with the ongoing climate emergencies that we are experiencing as a territory and, of course, an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment. So we need to be prepared for any outcome. So this is my blank cheque to the Minister to support anything his...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too want to welcome some of our guests today. Martha McLellan, she's a Range Lake resident; and, Kathryn Barry Paddock, and also a Range Lake resident. And I'd also like to recognize Mika Cameron. She was an important educator in my life coming up in the Northwest Territories. Thank you for being here today.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 46)

Thank you. And just to be clear, like, I understand the Minister's intentions here and that there is a -- we're all on the same page that we want to build these homes and we want to invest more, and it's the resourcing question and a dollar question. But don't be afraid to disappoint me, right, because when you say we've got a $50 million -- like, last year, we negotiated a $50 million plan. And earlier this year, when we were -- well, I can't say what we were discussing earlier because it was in-camera but earlier this year, we got different information, and now again we're back to a zero...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 46)

So has it gone from $150 million notional plan to a $50 million incremental plan, is that correct? Thank you.