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 97)

Mr. Chair, I rise on a point of order under Rule 3.2(3)(m). I waited until today to raise this point of order because I wanted to review Hansard, and I'm raising it at the earliest opportunity at the commencement of Committee of the Whole where the remarks at issue were made.

During Committee of the Whole yesterday while the Minister of the ENR and departmental officials debated the main estimates for the department, the Member for Monfwi asked questions about the barrenground caribou mobile management zone. In that context, the MLA said the following as quoted from the unedited Hansard: But...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Being the Minister of Education is all about relationships. We have to work with the teachers; we have to work with all of the education bodies across the territory. And I think that we have a good relationship with both of those entities and, as a result, we're able to make things happen without having to mandate them.

I think there is desire among all educators to have this training. That's why there has been uptake on this training. The local school boards see the value in this training, and so that's why it happens as well. So I don't think this is a situation that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Unfortunately, I don't have the numbers in front of me, and it's not it's not as easy as just mandating training for educators. As I think we've learned over this Assembly, there's a strong separation of authorities between education bodies and the department. That being said, we always encourage training; we provide extensive training; we work with the NWTTA to ensure that their members are aware that the training is available. And as we go forward in modernizing the Education Act, this is definitely an area where we want to look at to ensure that all teachers receive...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 96)

Madam Speaker, "Let's Go Fishing." That's the theme of this year's Indigenous Languages Month, which we celebrate every February in partnership with Indigenous governments and the NWT Literacy Council. To help everyone embrace this year's celebration, we are sharing a delicious fish chowder recipe in all nine official Indigenous languages. Throughout February, we continue to encourage residents to engage in the exciting activities in communities and schools to promote Indigenous language use.

Madam Speaker, the Northwest Territories is a landscape of rich and vibrant cultures that are the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 96)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I am sorry to ruin the theme day here, but I want to talk about a different topic.

As members are aware, it is Indigenous Languages Month and the Members may not be aware but the UN also declared 2022 to 2032 the international decade of Indigenous languages. I think this is a monumental event, and I'm always happy when I hear Members of this House speak in Indigenous languages. My colleague from Boot Lake, the Member for Yellowknife South I've heard, of course our Member for Monfwi, and I think that to mark not just Indigenous Languages Month but the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 96)

Madam Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: 31st Annual Report 20192020 Victims Assistance Committee of the NWT; and 32nd Annual Report 20202021 Victims Assistance Committee of the NWT. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 95)

No, we don't have those numbers. When employers implement things like this, they're not required to inform employment standards. However, under the Employment Standards Act, I believe there's around between 15,000 and 19,000 employees in the territory who fall under that act, and I would imagine for the most part they don't have paid sick leave. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 95)

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, today is Pink Shirt Day, a day when we take a moment to pause and reflect on how we treat one another.

Pink Shirt Day began in 2007 in Nova Scotia. After a male student was harassed for wearing a pink shirt, teenagers David Shepherd and Travis Price organized an antibullying protest in which they handed out pink shirts to the students in their school. Fifteen years later, Pink Shirt Day has become a global calltoaction as schools, communities and workplaces are flooded with pink in solidarity against bullying.

This year's national theme continues as Lift...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 95)

Madam Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Yellowknife Catholic Schools 20212022 Capital Plan Amended. And the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 20212022 Capital Plan Amended. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 95)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I don't know, maybe. The Member raises some very valid points, and sometimes I joke that he's just trying to chip away at the workweek with the more holidays and paid sick leave but the fact is this pandemic has shown us that when you're sick, we want you to stay home. But not everyone can afford that. So we are reviewing the Employment Standards Act in the upcoming fiscal year which starts not that long from now, and we are going to be going out and speaking with employers and asking them these questions, how they feel about it, and then speaking with the public as...