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
Email
Phone
867-767-9141
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

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

Phone
867-874-6301
Minister
Email
Email
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. And yes, we don't have all of the programs broken out in here. But it does have funding associated with it. Perhaps I can ask Mr. MacDonald for the details on exactly how that funding is distributed and how the program works. Thank you.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Yes, I do.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. I'll do what I should have done in the first place, and I'll ask the deputy minister to answer. Thanks.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So the NWT Arts Council is showing $700,000 year over year, and the actuals in 2021 were $710,000. Is that what the Member is referring to?

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. So the $200,000 specifically is for development of an Indigenous languages diploma program. But we do have a much larger pot of money for Indigenous languages. Perhaps I can ask no. So the answer would be no. Thank you.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Yes, I do.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. So there are regional early living and childcare coordinators or consultants in every region, and those are the people on the ground who people can reach out to have those conversations.

We also have, like as I mentioned, some monetary supports. And we are, as part of the move towards an universal system of childcare, we are looking at supports that we do provide and determining if that's the best way to provide those supports. And so we could see some changes in the way we roll that funding out as well, to make these types of changes that the Member is talking about. Thank you.

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. So it's a we fund the arts to the second highest degree per capita. I think one of the differences between our jurisdiction and southern jurisdictions is that there are larger arts entities that can access third party funding, federal funding, things like that, that a lot of our smaller artisans here can't do just by the fact that they don't have that infrastructure around them. So while the government is providing funding, I think the artists are missing out on other avenues, and we want to capitalize on that, and that's part of the one of the goals of the review through the art...

Committee Motion 193-19(2): Tabled Document 561-19(2): Main Estimates 2022-2023 – Infrastructure – Deferral of Department, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you. I will hand it to the deputy minister, but first I will say that, you know, we are embarking down a path towards universal child care, and part of that includes ensuring that we have a proper framework to guide us. And one of the pillars of that framework is going to be ensuring that all childcare is culturally appropriate. And so that is going to be one of our focuses. In terms of the funding available, I can ask the deputy minister for some more information. Thank you.

Question 954-19(2): Increasing Costs of Policing Services in the Northwest Territories
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And you can always get better at being more accountable and more transparent. I think that's true for every entity.

One of the tools that I have are those policing priorities which I mentioned. In addition, there are new initiatives that are likely rolling out in the coming year, such as bodyworn cameras. And of course, and I mentioned this before, the Territorial Police Service Agreement has a number of checks and balances and a number of ways to ensure that the RCMP are accountable to the department. And as well, there's countless working groups, meetings, locallevel...