Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs

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

R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Constituency Office

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

Minister
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 101)

Thank you. So after the 12 semesters of SFA, we have loans available and I know that there's also a number of scholarships available, and we compile a list of that. There's a significant amount of third party funding that people can access, especially once you get into things like medicine. And I know from experience that if you are pursuing a professional degree, the banks will also throw money at you in the form of lines of credit. And so you do have to pay that back but, you know, physicians, I mean, in the territory, make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. And so if you actually, you...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you. So we have one associated position, and that position helps coordinate with other departments. But the ISD program or ISD, integrated service delivery, is more than just a position or a program; it's an approach that not just justice is implementing but we are trying to implement across the GNWT. For more information, I can hand it over to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you, Madam Chair. From what I understand, the executive director was the one who was consulted. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've just initiated that review. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you. So most exceptions are really tied to medical issues, so if a student has a medical issue. And they would call their SFA, the SFA officer or their SFA contact person, that would be the first point of contact. And if the Member would like, we can provide information on, you know, what that process might look like. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Yes, they serve different purposes. I believe the child lawyer is when the courts require a child to have a lawyer and then the lawyer is appointed to the child through that process where the child advocate serves a different role altogether. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you. That may be something that the workforce development agreement could help out with but I'm really not sure so I'll ask Mr. MacDonald. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you. So in addition to the YWCA, and as the Member is aware, she just mentioned, we also have victim services. And that recently was reviewed and there were some changes made to that, and there were you know, we were able to redirect some funds to enhance those supports as well. So this is just one area.

In terms of the funding, there isn't a plan in this fiscal year to increase it. I'm not sure if the deputy minister has anything to add on that one. I don't think she does, but there's no doubt that this is a serious issue and we, you know, implement and develop and implement the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Perhaps Mr. Bancroft can speak to some of the technical aspects of the review. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 101)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have the data at my fingertips. I'd be happy to get back to the Member with that information. Thank you.