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

Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Constituency Office

125 Mackenzie Rd
Unit 203
Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
Canada

P.O. Box
3130
Minister
Minister of Health and Social Services

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you. No, it's not.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you. I think -- I believe of the 1200 people that were accessing benefits before, we have 794 and -- again, and 300 that were 429 of them on the last information I have were previous clients, and many -- like I said, before the program was is if you were a specific disease, you didn't even have to go through other insurances. And so now the program has been so that you're the user of last resort of the extended health benefits. So those that have previously been on them have been accessing, you know -- may have chosen to use their own insurance if they have work insurance and things like...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, within public health and population health, the main goal is to have people working in the frontline for the health promotion piece. You know, we go out -- when you look at, you know, the things that fall under there, is immunization. We need to make sure that, you know, people -- our immunization rates are up so that means that we're seeing less of those diseases. When we think about population health in that same area is TB. You know, we had a -- like we talked about, we had a recent TB break. We should be able to manage those and better -- you know, on our...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, in the Liwego'ati Building, they are -- the extended care beds are filled, I believe, and we are currently in the process of filling, I believe, 17 -- 17 of the beds as the funding that we have allocated -- has been allocated within that to open up those 17 beds. So the plan with Liwego'ati is to open up those beds in -- as we need to, like in sections so that we can onboard staff. And so right now the department is on -- is staffed, and they are admitting new patients into -- or new clients into -- new residents into the 17 beds that are currently there now...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Yes, that's correct.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I'm going to, if I may, pass that on to the ADM. She can explain that, how that works.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, what I will say is that we are only halfway through this year from this -- when this change was I think -- believe September 3rd. So we will continue to -- I mean, we -- we will have the data, and once the year is up we will analyze the data, and we will look at -- like, I committed to providing to committee once we've analyzed the data on what's -- like, how the program was over the last year, you know, we'll provide that information to committee. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Yes, thank you. There will still be roles within the ministry and the department as well as, you know, actually -- and so there will be -- within the authorities, there will be more clarified roles and who's doing -- and the operations and so, yes, there will be still authority -- or a department straddling of how they work together. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

That is correct.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 44)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nine, we have nine health cabins in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.