Richard Edjericon

Member Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh

Richard Edjericon was first elected to represent the district of Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh in by election during the 19th Assembly in 2022 and was re-elected to the 20th Assembly later the next year.

A descendant of Treaty 8 Chipewyan signator Chief Oliver Edjericon, Richard Edjericon was born and raised in Little Buffalo River near Fort Resolution. He attended Diamond Jenness Secondary High School in Hay River and Akaitcho Hall in Yellowknife.

Obtaining his journeyman carpenter’s certification from Thebacha College in Fort Smith, Mr. Edjericon has nearly four decades of experience as a journeyman certified carpenter working through out the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in residential and commercial construction.

Eventually his work in construction brought him to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation as the North Slave Maintenance Coordinator. He would also become the General Manager for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Housing Division.

Mr. Edjericon’s dedication to his community led him to seek the position of Elected Head Chief for Dettah and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, holding that office from 1999 to 2003. He also became the Acting Grand Chief Spokeperson on behalf of the Akaitcho Chiefs for the Akaitcho Territory Government. He later joined the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board in 2007 and soon became chair, reappointed to this position in 2011.

Mr. Edjericon’s proudest moments include settling boundary disputes, signing political accords, creating fairer nation to nation relationships, and fostering economic development. As MLA he brings with him a passion for a fairer, more prosperous North, and a great depth of knowledge in housing, economics, and politics. He lives in Ndilo with his wife, Aleida.”

Tu Nedhé-Wiilideh Electoral District

Committees

Tu Nedhé - Wiilideh
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
12185
Mobile
Constituency Office
Email

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you. I want to really bring this one up as well. I mean, it's a 20242025 Capital Estimates budgets. You know, for what we're looking at housing this year, I'm not sure where to start, but I already voiced my concerns in March about this issue of housing. You know, I guess as the Finance minister and the next government coming in, they're going to have some tough decisions ahead of them. Overall, you know, we got a budget of $2.2 billion, we're $1.6 billion in the hole with this fire season as it is; we're going to be reaching that in no time. You know, we got grants and contributions...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the Minister offered to come across this House, Minister Simpson will go across I was hoping that will happen and we would have this thing resolved.

Mr. Speaker, has an internal review taken place internally into the unconstitutional violation of the Lutselk'e Timber Bay culture camp raid? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Tomorrow's the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day. It's Friday. Everybody's tired and want to go home and that kind of thing, and so I'm just hoping the Minister is feeling good today.

Mr. Speaker, after a year with no further progress on the supposed investigation into the caribou harvesting in Lutselk'e, will the Minister now recognize the wrong that was done under his watch and apologize to the community of Lutselk'e and start the reconciliation process as mandated by this government? Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I also want to make a couple comments. We got to keep remembering that education is a treaty right. Based on the treaties that was made in 1900, and Treaty 8, my great great grandfather's the one that signed the treaty in Fort Resolution. And Treaty 8 Treaty 11 was made in 1921 up and down the valley. And when the treaty was made, it was made with the Crown. And the Government of Canada was supposed to uphold those treaties. That's why we got a Governor General, and here we have a Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. When we do an oath to office here, it says...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in other words, we're not going to get no report in this at the end of this session and it's going to carry over to the next government.

Will the Minister drop this pointless investigation and own up to his mistakes that were made by offering the community of Lutselk'e a sincere apology to this House? And for the record, I just want a simple yes or no today. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 164)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister provide an update to the House on the status of this investigation? We were told it's going to take six months. Here we are a year later. We still don't see anything. And we're concerned that the court already made a decision this is unlawful. And we want to know here today that if you can give us an update on where things are at. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 163)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Minister. Given the history of the Rocher River, can the Minister confirm the involvement of the Akaitcho First Nations in the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project and what financial resources have been provided to them to into a meaningful participant in this work to help relocate the graves to drier land or to communities in the Akaitcho region? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 163)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the GNWT's working closely with various Indigenous governments through engagement on the expansion. My question is about public consultation, particularly with elders, on the potential impacts for unmarked graves regarding the Taltson Hydro Expansion Project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 163)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the ongoing discovery of unmarked graves throughout Canada only further highlights the atrocities of a colonial system which has negatively impacted Indigenous people since European contact. The community of Rocher River was abandoned in order to provide a clearer path for the Taltson Hydro Electric Dam. This is a sad tale that can be told across Canada where the scores of Indigenous nations forcibly evicted from their ancestral homelands to make way for industrial development to benefit incoming colonial settlers. The history of Rocher River is complex...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 163)

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, I just got general comments overall. But I've been here for almost a year and a half in this position, and I continue to advocate our wishes of what I've been hearing from my leadership in Lutselk'e; for example, you know, winter roads, and I've been bringing this issue forward. There was no commitment by this government. This was no commitment to undertake a study or anything like that for the need to put a road into the community of Lutselk'e, a winter road. And, you know, like, it's hard for me to sit here to go through this budget again. And, really, you know...