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 , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

I'm a bit disappointed. I know the Minister's very fond of consultants and helping the government do its work. What I'm trying to do by offering these suggestions is improve our procurement in a more public, transparent, and substantive way. If not any of these options I present on the table today, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister commit to coming to a constituency meeting or community meeting in my riding of Kam Lake that has many businesses and hearing the concerns directly from my constituents about the procurement? Will he make that commitment? I'll even provide the refreshments.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the Minister of Infrastructure for putting such great confidence in me that a one-on-one meeting together will represent all the stakeholder interest in the procurement process and the government. Alas, Mr. Speaker, I am only one honourable Member of this House, and I'm going to ask if the Minister will reconsider his position from the previous sitting of this House and establish a special advisory panel on procurement that will draw expertise from public servants, NWT businesses, and procurement experts to make a better procurement system...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

Does the Minister agree that a 15 month wait for a procurement application is unacceptable, and that that issue needs to be dealt with right away?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I spoke around issues in accessing housing services, and I would like to ask the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation: are steps being taken to renew the strategic renewal of the corporation? Are some of those going to be looking at online access to LHOs and the various programs? Are we going to look at making the Housing Corporation's programs more user-friendly for Northerners? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

That's exactly the point, is that they're not going to wait so we need to be prepared. I question, you know, how surprising this development was. It has been in the federal Liberal Government's platform. I'd like to ask the Minister how many FTP meetings have they had around this issue and how many internal meetings have we had that have been informed by those FTP meetings?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am overjoyed that we are finally talking about cannabis regulation in this House, and I would like to ask the Minister of Justice: given what he has rolled out here, we have 12 months to put in place legislation in order to meet the deadline that has been established by Ottawa's proposed cannabis act, which gives us seven months to develop legislation after the consultation period. Can the Minister assure this House that cannabis legislation and regulation will be in place by the time legalization takes place nationally? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Mr. Speaker, the role of a Member of the Legislative Assembly is not confined to sittings of this House and work on committees. An equally important aspect of this job is helping address our constituents' concerns by helping them access government services and programs.

Mr. Speaker, it should come as no surprise that my constituents are my first priority, something I share with the honourable Members of this House. Since the election, I have constantly worked to assist Kam Lakers with the challenges they face in their everyday lives, and, when it comes to these issues, Mr. Speaker, there is no...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Mr. Speaker, the Minister has said to me she is going to look into this issue, outside of the House and now in the Chamber. Can she commit today that there will be online access to all programs by the end of this calendar year?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you to the Minister for that response, and I look forward to working with the honourable Minister on this issue as well. Can the Minister explain how he thinks that work is going to roll out?

This is a complex issue. It deals with regulation. It deals with taxation. It deals with health. It has significant budgetary concerns, both in generating revenue and in paying for public awareness programs. It might require amendments to territorial legislation regarding criminal matters. Is the Minister willing to accept a joint working group or a joint committee in order to properly shepherd this...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

I hope, on this consultation process, that minutes will be taken when these public hearings are had. The Minister knows that this work has been ongoing on the departmental level. There's nothing to show in the form of documentation, so what has been done to date on developing this legislation on working with the federal government to understand the implications? Other provinces have indicated some of the regulatory measures they want to bring in place. What do we have in the hopper that is informing this survey or this consultation period?