Lesa Semmler

Member Inuvik Twin Lakes

Minister of Health and Social Services

Lesa Semmler currently serves as the Member representing Inuvik Twin Lakes in the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, having been re-elected to the position. Born in Yellowknife, NT, and raised in Inuvik, where she still resides, Ms. Semmler has deep roots in the Northwest Territories. 

A Registered Nurse, Ms. Semmler graduated from the Aurora College Northern Nursing Program in 2000 and earned her Community Health Nurse Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association in 2008. With 15 years of frontline nursing experience at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, she focused on Acute Care, Homecare, and Public Health. Her career also included roles as the Manager of Acute Care Services and eventually the Regional Manager of Acute Care Services under the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. Notably, she served as the Inuvialuit Health System Navigator at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, assisting Inuvialuit Beneficiaries in navigating the healthcare system. 

Beyond her healthcare career, Ms. Semmler has actively contributed to education and community service. She served on the Inuvik District Education Authority, assuming the role of Chair from 2015 to 2018, and chaired the Beaufort Delta Education Council. Ms. Semmler participated in various working groups at the territorial and national levels, including the Inuit Tuberculosis Elimination Board and the Inuit Midwifery Revitalization. Her commitment to social justice is evident in her voluntary work as a member of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Family Advisory Circle, where she worked to ensure northern voices were heard and represented. Lesa Semmler's life and career reflect her passion for healthcare, education, and advocating for the well-being of her community.

Inuvik Twin Lakes Electoral District

Committees

Inuvik Twin Lakes
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Extension
12195
Constituency Office

198 Mackenzie Rd
Unit 123
Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
Canada

P.O. Box
3130
Constituency Phone
867-678-2429
Minister
Email
Email
Minister of Health and Social Services

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Thank you, committee. We will take a short recess and resume with the first item.

---SHORT RECESS

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Mr. Speaker, committee has been considering Tabled Document 181-19(2), Capital Estimates 2020-2021, and I would like to report progress with one motion passed. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Norn.

Committee Motion 42-19(2): Tabled Document 181-19(2): Capital Estimates 2020-2021 - Environment and Natural Resources - Deferral of Department (page 15), Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Question has been called. All in favour? All opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Consideration of the departmental summary has been deferred. Thank you to the Minister and the witnesses. Sergeant-at-Arms, you may escort the witnesses out of the Chamber.

Mr. Norn, what is the will of the committee?

Question 408-19(2): Use of Indigenous Languages in Government of the Northwest Territories Workplaces
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

I get what the Minister is saying, but if I wanted to answer the phone as an Indigenous person in my government office and say, "Hello, drin gwiinzii" or "uvlaami," why would I have to say it in French if I'm saying it in two different languages? If a French person needs a service in my community, if a Muslim person, a Somalian person needs language, there is the translation service provided. They can request it. What I'm asking is: why do we have to make Indigenous people have to say it in French? What's wrong with saying it in their own language? It's another language. It's giving an active...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Thank you, Members. Please return now to the department summary found on page 15. Environment and Natural Resources, 2021-2022 Capital Estimates, $2,159,000. Does committee agree? Just one second. Mr. Norn.

Question 408-19(2): Use of Indigenous Languages in Government of the Northwest Territories Workplaces
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With my Member's statement today, this was no way, shape, or form about "us against them." It's about equity. Our Indigenous public servants are being told to answer phones, while working for the GNWT, in English and French. This has been in effect since 2015, when it was rolled out, a language completely foreign to them, at the same time not allowing for active offers in their own languages. Why are we as a government forcing Indigenous public servants to answer phones in a language that is not theirs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Thank you, Member. Are there any other comments for this section? Seeing none, I will now call the activity. Environment and Natural Resources, forest management, infrastructure investments, $679,000. Does committee agree?

Committee Report 4-19(2): Report on the Review of the 2018-2019 Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission Annual Report
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In March 2019, an amended Human Rights Act consolidated the Office of the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Director into a single agency: the Human Rights Commission. With the amendments, the commission gains a role in the complaints process by looking after complaints and preparing to bring them before the adjudicator. This is referred to as "carriage of complaints." Complaints that cannot be resolved through the director's dispute resolution process go to the adjudication panel for hearing.

Committee welcomes that the commission now has a legal counsel who...

Member's Statement on Inuvik Airport
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 42)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have heard about the replacement of the Inuvik airport and the runway extensions for a few years now. This past year, I observed the demolition of the old hangar where the new airport is supposed to be built. Mr. Speaker, in December, I reached out to the infrastructure department for a briefing on all the projects that are planned for Inuvik. As a new MLA, I wanted to be informed of what was going on, and I specifically requested what would be happening at the Inuvik airport. With no answers or information, I ended up just attending a public presentation on the...