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 81)

Thank you. Does committee agree?

Committee Report 17-19(2): Report on the Review of Bill 23: An Act to Amend the Public Utilities Act
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 81)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Committee Members heard anecdotal reports from constituents who must improvise methods to regulate the temperature in public housing due to poor build quality, deterioration of the units, and insufficient maintenance. The committee has heard about tenants in NWT public housing whose units do not adequately retain heat in the winter due, for instance, to interior doors being installed on exterior walls. As a result, tenants may resort to using their stove to heat their unit. The committee also heard about tenants in NWT public housing who must open the windows in the...

Oral Question 781-19(2): Progress on Housing Priorities
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 81)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we should have 90 completed by the end of this term going into the next term. So how many actual units will be built in my community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral Question 781-19(2): Progress on Housing Priorities
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 81)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was a commitment in this House as part of the 19th Assembly priorities to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce core housing needs, and then that -- and part of that mandate there would be a hundred houses built over the four years.

Mr. Speaker, as we are halfway through our term, how many of these hundred houses have been completed as it was stated that there would be 25 per year as part of the mandate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 81)

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, first, I'd like to thank the Member for Thebacha for bringing this forward.

In all my life, I've travelled to Yellowknife. After receiving this threat, I have never felt my safety was compromised coming here until that. You know, we were planning on being here the end of that week, or the following week, for meetings and then session. I did not want to come. So this type of threat was going to prevent me from being able to do my job as an MLA.

As my colleague has said, this Assembly is made up of more women than men now and this type of a threat in any circumstance would...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 81)

I just hear people saying 'agreed'.

Sorry, okay. All right. There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order, non-debatable. All those in favour. Motion is carried.

--- Carried

Member's Statement on 2021 Graduating Class
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 80)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the East Three Secondary graduating class of 2021, and all the graduates of Class 2021 in the Northwest Territories on achieving this milestone through a pandemic, as they had to spend their entire final school year under COVID restrictions. I wish you luck on the next chapter of your lives.

I would also like to congratulate the college, university, and trade students from my community and the Northwest Territories who will or have graduated this year. Like I said, the pandemic has put a real twist on learning not just in the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Minister. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development, the committee that considered the bill for opening comments. Member for Kam Lake.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Finance.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you. Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, Department of Finance, management board secretariat, not previously authorized, $15,882,000. Does committee agree?