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

Member's Statement on Oral Health Care
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to discuss oral health care in the NWT, especially for communities outside the capital. In my community, we have a dental clinic that serves not only Inuvik, but the Beaufort-Delta. That is not enough. I would like to refer to an oral health action plan released by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, ITK, in 2013. I quote from the executive summary: "The 2008-2009 Inuit oral health survey highlighted the need for urgent and comprehensive measures to overcome the unacceptably high rate of oral disease that is two to three times that of the rest of Canada."

Mr. Speaker...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report progress and, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

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

Question 71-19(2): Oral Health Action Plan
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Referring back again to the action plan, it also says that it's going to establish a chief oral health officer role. Like in all the reports, we know that this is such a crisis in all Inuit, First Nations, Metis, in the territories. It's a crisis. Mr. Speaker, you're coming from a small town; you know the services are lacking. Is there a job description, and are we currently recruiting for a chief oral health officer role?

Question 71-19(2): Oral Health Action Plan
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are going to be for the Minister of Health and Social Services in regard to the Oral Health Action Plan that I mentioned in my Member's statement. In the action plan, I see a lot of it is generated around changing community health nurse standards, community health nurse guidelines, pre-natal, post-natal. What I want to ask the Minister is: knowing we have shortage, and I know we have some really excellent community health nurses, but a lot of times, with the shortage, we don't have community health nurses; we have a lot of emergency room nurses going...

Question 65-19(2): National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: Calls for Justice
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 6)

I have one last question: can the Premier ensure that there are sections on both the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report and the TRC in the cultural awareness training for all staff of the GNWT that is being piloted right now, and, if not, can they ensure that it's in there?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 6)

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 6)

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 6)

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 6)

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Frame Lake.