R.J. Simpson

Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs
Minister of Justice
Government House Leader

R.J. Simpson was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, representing the constituency of Hay River North. On December 7th, 2023, Mr. Simpson was elected Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Simpson was formerly acclaimed to the 19th Legislative Assembly and first elected into the 18th Assembly in 2015.

Mr. Simpson was Deputy Speaker of the 18th Assembly, Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and the Chair of the Special Committee on Transition Matters. Mr. Simpson was also a member of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning and the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment.

Mr. Simpson is a lifelong resident of Hay River After graduating from Diamond Jenness Secondary School in 1998 Mr. Simpson went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts from MacEwan University and a law degree from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law.

Mr. Simpson has previously worked with the Government of Canada, Northern Transportation Company Ltd, Métis Nation Local 51, and Maskwa Engineering.

While at law school, Mr. Simpson was the President of the Aboriginal Law Students’ Association. He has also served on the board of the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre in Hay River and volunteered with the Canada-Ghana Education Project.

Hay River North Electoral District

Committees

Hay River North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

62, promenade Woodland, bureau 104
Hay River Nord NT X0E 1G1
Canada

Phone
Minister
Email
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 108)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 37, An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act be read for the third time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 108)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 108)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, this should be a written question and so in the future, it would be nice if these were presented in accordance with the rules. But we can work on putting something together. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is really should be presented as a written question, but I will work on that. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So most payments, once they're in the system, are swift. 95 percent of the maintenance enforcement clients receive their funds through direct deposit. There's sometimes situations where one of the parties might be outside of the territory and in those instances, we have legislation, and other jurisdictions have complementary legislation, whereby we cooperate. And all jurisdictions in Canada, except for Quebec, also use direct deposit. So there may be delays in some situations, particularly when one of the individuals is living in Quebec. But for the most part, funds are...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And like many things over the past two years, it's a story of delays. We were initially waiting for the federal government to make changes to one of their acts, the Divorce Act, which they did, then there was a federal election which meant that our discussions with the federal government on using a recalculation service under the Divorce Act were delayed. But we've restarted those and we've made significant progress, and so while we didn't hit the January 1st deadline, we're hoping by April 1st to have the draft regulations posted for public comment, and I expect that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have been doing a lot of work over the last number of years on ensuring that first of all, beginning with frontline staff, that there has been traumainformed training. So in the past number of years since 2016, 375 Justice frontline workers have received traumainformed approach training, as well as participated in the Living Well Together Program that's required for all GNWT employees. And that includes the probation officers. And I have to say that, you know, some of the probation officers in the territory really have been leading the charge on integrated service...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I think this really is one of the bright spots in corrections in the territory, what is going on at the South Mackenzie Correctional Centre. I had the opportunity to tour the facility, and the program had really just been in operation for a number of weeks, but I could tell that it was you know, it was going to make a difference, really, in the lives of the people who are there. So, really, the proof will be in the pudding. And, you know, we are the the residents are, you know, part of the program and so there's constant feedback from them about how things are...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have that information. But I will I can get back to the Member. Thank you.