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 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so what the Member's talking about is we wouldn't call it social passing; it's peer placement. So students are placed with their agerelated peers. So if you are of a certain age, you would be placed in a certain grade. And if you have different needs, if you perhaps aren't on the same level with certain subjects, the idea is that you would receive lesson plans and the supports you need to catch up to the rest of your peers.

In reality, I think that we realize, we see that's not the way things work. And this approach is used in many, many jurisdictions. It's not just...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so as I've referenced before, the education bodies, the DECs, the DEAs, they have a lot of independence and they really run their own affairs. And so the type of training that is provided is really based on that particular DEA or DEC. So the superintendent would possibly develop some training on governance and then offer it to the new DEAs. The Member points out that there are often new members. There's elections every few years. Sometimes we have members who have been there for 20 years and they can act as a mentor, but quite often we have new members. And one of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act, be read for the third time. And Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've had a number of conversations with Minister Guilbeault when he was in the role of Canadian Heritage but he's no longer there, and so I have to build a new relationship with the new Minister. And that was typically around the COVID-related funding.

As for funding specifically for the museum, there is money through Canadian Heritage through the museum assistance program, I believe it's called, and they have funding for discrete projects, so minor upgrades, exhibits, things like that. And we have been successful in getting some of those funds.

That funding is something...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If this government, as the Member said, made culture and heritage a higher priority it doesn't mean that we would have a new museum; it might mean that we have more resources in communities. Making something a higher priority for the territory isn't synonymous with making something a higher priority in Yellowknife. So there are people outside of Yellowknife who we want to be able to access culture and heritage resources as well. So this is not the only culture and heritage resource in the territory.

That being said, it is a very valuable one, and it does more than...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we do share all of that information with the education bodies. ECE will share it with the regional DEC, and they then distribute that to the DEAs. And we have offered information sessions on all of those initiatives, because we want everyone to be on the same page and know what's going on. So I can't really direct the DECs to do things like that. It's not my role. But I would be happy to share that information and provide those types of briefings if they are requested, because if everyone knows what's going on it's beneficial to everyone.

I will say, though, that we...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And it's a two-way relationship. The DEAs are the ones on the ground, and they often know the challenges students are facing better than anyone. And so I do meet with the education leaders, the chairs of the DEAs and the regional DECs, and we have those discussions. So I can hear exactly what is happening on the ground.

And for the information flowing the other way, we do reach out and we do explain what ECE is doing. So we've sent out the discussion papers on the Education Act, on the curriculum renewal and all of these initiatives, and we've offered briefings to the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There will be engagement that's going to happen to get that feedback from artists, and that's going to begin likely early in the new year. So we are going to engage, and we're going to talk to them, and we're going to listen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm here today to present Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act. I want to thank the Standing Committee on Social Development for their interest in and review of this bill.

This bill will result in an arm's length governance system that supports an effective, efficient, and sustainable Aurora College positioned to continuously identify and respond to the needs of northern residents, Indigenous governments, partners, and stakeholders. It will also set the stage for further legislative change in 2024 to create the polytechnic university.

The creation of a...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The type of arts council structure that the Member's speaking about, they are usually born out of a grassroots organization, a group of artists that get together and has a vision, has a plan, and it's an organization that then can be supported.

There is currently no organization in the territory that has that ability at this point. There's a number of different organizations, and maybe if they all combine their power, that might be an organization that we might be able to support. But that's just not the case. These are generally grassroots organizations. And while the...