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

Question 20-19(2): Northwest Territories Power Corporation Board
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister responsible for NTPC. Yesterday, my colleague questioned the Minister regarding the board. The Minister stated that DMs are not DMs when they are sitting on this board, but then he stated that Deputy Ministers are using their skill sets to run it. This is in Hansard. So how can we ensure that the DMs who are not DMs are impartial when making decisions that are made when it is involving their departments? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 10-19(2): Schools North Apprenticeship Program and Trades Education
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 2)

Thank you to the Minister for that. I look forward to the ongoing work in that area. Will the Minister ensure that small businesses that have apprentices and utilize the on-the-job funding to support them to keep the apprentice until they reach their journeyman certificate?

Question 10-19(2): Schools North Apprenticeship Program and Trades Education
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Will the Minister advise me if they will be running the Schools North Apprenticeship Program, referred to as the SNAP program, in my community this year? If not, why, and will his department reconsider? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk about legal aid. In 2016, it was decided by the government at the time that budget cuts needed to happen, according to a CBC article that I found, which stated: "The budget proposes closing the town's legal aid office, which specializes in family law, and moving the sole lawyer position from Inuvik to Yellowknife. The office's administrative worker position would be eliminated." Mr. Speaker, that did happen.

Since being elected, I have heard from my constituents that, once applying for legal aid, they wait months for a family law lawyer. That would...

Member's Statement on Mobility Access
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Can the Department of Justice let me know how they categorize urgent and non-urgent cases when assigning Legal Aid?

Member's Statement on Mobility Access
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Justice. We are going back to my Member's statement. Can the Minister tell me: have the two vacancies at the Legal Aid Commission been filled, and, if not, where is the department currently in filling these positions? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member's Statement on Mobility Access
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Minister for her answer. Can the Minister provide me or the Members with any information packages that we can keep in our offices for when clients do come to us? When we go to the websites, sometimes it is not as clear. If we have easy-to-read stuff, whatever issue that they are dealing with, we would be able to provide them with assistance.

Member's Statement on Mobility Access
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 1)

Can the Minister tell me: how will the department ensure that the region's needs are met now that these services have been centralized back to Yellowknife and we have vacancies?

Question 25-19(1): Housing Needs
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 4)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to hear that because it kind of leads into my next question. Will the Minister again commit and be bold and lead her department with working with Indigenous groups to lobby the federal government to supply appropriate, long-term, sustainable funding to address our housing deficits in Inuvik and the Northwest Territories as a whole?

Question 25-19(1): Housing Needs
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 4)

Mr. Speaker, what changes to the GNWT housing strategic or plan that they currently have is the Minister looking at to deal with this issue as the current strategy plan clearly is not working to improve the housing situation? As the study has shown, it has gone backwards in the last ten years.