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 10)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I see it in a lot of the fields. We have ultrasound; we get this big influx of people who need to have an ultrasound when we get an ultrasound tech. Since we have had our permanent radiologist x-ray tech leave, we haven't been able to secure one in our region permanently, and they are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and then working during the day. It is just a really unhealthy situation to be a staff in that. I look forward to this mandate growing legs and getting moving. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

---Laughter

Member's Statement on Drug Trafficking in the Northwest Territories
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to talk about something that we hear about almost weekly in the news in the NWT, drug-related charges, offences. In Inuvik, at a recent town council meeting, it was reported 69 reports of possible drug trafficking in 2019 compared to 15 in 2018. This was according to the RCMP stats in January. In an article on February 13th, CBC quoted Constable Chris Main out of Inuvik: "In recent years, the Northwest Territories as a whole has seen a dramatic increase in the presence of drug trafficking, and Inuvik has been no exception to this," and reports to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Health and Social Services.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Member for Hay River South. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister for ITI.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the hardest things, I think, working in healthcare is when you are working with clients and you are working with patients. You are coming in, and you are leaving. You are from another province, or you are in another territory or another hospital. It is so hard as any nurses that are permanent already here, signed on. I don't even think it is nurses. It is lab techs. It is all of them, having rotating co-workers that you are having to basically do your job, orientate almost every shift. It feels like you are constantly orientating. You are doing the job of two all...