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 78)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We'd love 100 percent federal funding. We do have to pay for this somehow. You know, that's the big question obviously. We want a new residence. We understand that it's not suitable for what we want to do with the polytechnic. And so how we're going to pay for it is the question yet to be determined. So I can stand here and I can say we need a new one. I can't say that I have it in the budget yet, but we have already begun approaching the federal government and we will continue to do so aggressively until we get something on the ground. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 78)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As was identified in that foundational review, it is problematic, and the future plan is to hopefully build a new residence. Officials have raised this issue with the Government of Canada, I raised this issue with Minister Vandal directly. As part of the transformation of Aurora College, we need a suitable residence and that's not a suitable residence for the worldclass institution that we are creating. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 78)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we're not looking at an action plan, to initiate something like that. However, I can say that I have had conversations with the education leaders across the territory, so the chairs of the regional boards and the local DEAs, and there has been a focus on the handson type learning, and you know, it's clear that there is a lack of those facilities in the smaller communities, and I even hear in the larger communities it is difficult to staff a lot of those facilities.

There is a shortage of journeypersons across Canada and not every journeyperson wants to be a teacher...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 78)

Mr. Speaker, the arts, culture, heritage and language play an integral part in creating a strong and sustainable territory. Living without access to live music, art shows, craft fairs, traditional events and seasonal festivities because of the pandemic has highlighted the beauty, tradition, celebration and community that arts, culture, language and heritage bring into our lives. This past year has also shown the resiliency and creativity of the many individuals and organizations who have found ways to continue to bring us together even when we are apart.

In celebration of these individuals and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, again, we can't ignore the fact that the schools were residential schools. But in terms of the age of the facilities and the technical status of them, they are in very good condition. You know, they  what the  what we don't do well is we don't keep up appearances well. So we don't refresh schools with new paint and those kind of things to make them look new but, really, the school itself is solid. And, you know, any new school would likely be, you know, significantly smaller. You know, the two schools might turn into one school based on the fact that they're both...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT uses a capital planning process when looking at what infrastructure to replace. It takes into consideration the following criteria: In order of importance, protection of people, protection of access, protection of environment, financial investments, and program needs or requirements. That being said, the fact that this school was a residential school is definitely something that we take into consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Cabinet is unable to support Bill 29. This bill proposes to amend three pieces of land and resources legislation. However, to date, there's been no consultation with Indigenous governments, industry, or the public on proposed amendments. Provision of the three acts without engagement does not align with the public's expectation of how the Government of the Northwest Territories should operate and is contrary to our agreements with Indigenous governments.

If the bill is referred to a Standing Committee, there will be opportunities for public engagement, but...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Followup Letter for Oral Question 54419(2) Mental Health During the Pandemic, and Followup Letter for Oral Question 69619(2) Illicit Drug Trade. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, the Member just brought concerns to me, and she's a representative of the people so I have to say yes, I've heard concerns from the people. The South Slave Divisional Educational Council has also reported they have occasionally received similar concerns. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The last technical evaluation for JBT was done in 2005. And I'm not aware of plans to do another one. There have been no major issues identified with this school. Issues are identified by the regional Infrastructure staff who regularly work with the school and maintain it through reports from the staff at the school, through observations from ECE staff when they're in the school, and Infrastructure has a database that produces a rating of schools, and the rating for JBT is based on its deferred maintenance and its condition, and the rating for JBT is .52, which is...