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
Email
Rj_simpson@ntassembly.ca
Phone
867-767-9141 (link is a phone number)
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

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

Phone
867-874-6301(link is a phone number)
Minister
Email
Rj_simpson@gov.nt.ca
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Oral Question 897-19(2): Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 93)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of times the Member has stated that the government has a mandatory vaccination policy and has stated that GNWT employees are being required to get vaccinated or being laid off, and both of those are false. The Member is uttering falsehoods about the government and its policies. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tabled Document 551-19(2): Follow-up letter for Oral Question 853-19(2): Immigration Strategy
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 93)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Follow-up letter to Oral Question 82219(2), Territorial Policing Services Agreement; and Follow-up letter to Oral Question 85319(2), Immigration Strategy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral Question 899-19(2): Community Gas Tax Funding and Water Issues in Behchoko
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 93)

Apologize.

Oral Question 899-19(2): Community Gas Tax Funding and Water Issues in Behchoko
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 93)

Point of order.

Oral Question 897-19(2): Mandatory Vaccination Policy
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 93)

Mr. Speaker, point of order.

Tabled Document 539-19(2): Critical Minerals Workshop Information Package
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 92)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Northwest Territories Coroner Service 2020 Annual Report Including 10 year Review 20112020. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral Question 887-19(2): Community Justice Programs
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 92)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And evaluations are something that we really learned to value with this funding because some of the issues that the department ran into early on with the new day program was the inability to really evaluate outcomes and how well it was working. And so all of these contribution agreements here require that there be reporting. There will be some shortterm measures, so just things like the participation rates in the program and the feedback from clients. But we also require some more longterm reporting. And I will follow up with the department to ensure that we do have...

Oral Question 887-19(2): Community Justice Programs
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 92)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And of course the new day program ended. It was not renewed by the Department of Justice, and so I'm glad the Member today read one of the Minister of Health's old statements and not one of my old statements from last term about the new day program.

I think that so the program has ended, but the money is still there. And so what the department has done is looked at other ways to utilize that money. We found that the new day program was not working for the Northwest Territories for a number of reasons, and we didn't want to continue down that road. But we have intimate...

Oral Question 884-19(2): Paid Sick Leave and the Employment Standards Act
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 92)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't have that information. Most people in the most employees in this territory are governed by the Employment Standards Act. But that is not to say that none of those people have access to paid sick days because employers could offer that. So while the majority of employees in the territory are governed under this act, we don't have the number of how many don't have access to paid sick days. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Oral Question 884-19(2): Paid Sick Leave and the Employment Standards Act
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 92)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recall yesterday in the House the Member stood up and said we have to make some hard choices. We're facing a budget crunch, and we can't have everything we want.

If the GNWT were to do this, it would be a very expensive program. And if we put it on to private employers, it could be a very expensive program for them. That being said, maybe it is something we want so we do have to look into this.

The Employment Standards Act provides a bare minimum of protection for employees. So there could be employers right now under this act who are providing paid sick days. It is an...