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 52)

The Member is right to be sceptical. She wouldn't be here if she wasn't; none of us would. Governments say lots of things, and sometimes they don't happen. I don't know if there is anything I could say that would assure me as a Regular Member. It has to be proven. We have to actually do the work. We have to come back on a regular basis and show that we're doing the work, and that's really the only way to prove ourselves.

I will note that there was one difference, something that's never been done before. That is that this is not just an effort of the department, and it's not just an effort of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

I can provide that information to the Member along with the other information I committed to. I just want to note that Aurora College will be becoming arm's length in the next couple of years, and we can no longer say, "This is what we are going to do at the college." In the future, the university I see has a very strong language aspect to it. To me, it would be one of the highlights, one of the selling points of the university, so I foresee very strong partnerships going forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

I don't have that level of detail with me right now, but, for example, the mentorship-apprenticeship program is in partnership with Indigenous governments, and I said we are partnering with the University of Victoria and, hopefully, with Aurora College, to develop a program that we can deliver throughout the North. I can get that information for the Member.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to commemorate one of my predecessors, the Honourable Paul Delorey, who passed away on New Year's Day earlier this year. Paul served Hay River as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, he served the Northwest Territories as the Speaker of the House, and he served the community as a prolific volunteer and outstanding citizen.

Paul was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1999, defeating six other candidates and earning the privilege of representing the newly created constituency of Hay River North. He was elected again in 2003, that time by...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think a feedback loop is the most important thing in terms of communication. We have to know what the people on the front line are thinking. That's where the expertise lies in the day-to-day operations, and if we don't have that, this is all for naught. This is going to fail. If someone feels like they are not being heard, they can talk to their supervisor. If that's where the problem is, you can talk to the union. If you still feel like you're not being heard, talk to the ADM. If that doesn't get you anywhere, talk to the deputy minister. This is actually what the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

I think communication causes most problems, not just in corrections, but everywhere. Lack of communication really leads to misunderstandings; it leads to problems not being resolved. The first thing that happened after this report came out is that senior staff, senior management, went to the different facilities. They presented this information, and they listened to the staff to hear what they had to say directly, not through a consultant. From that, they are compiling a "what we heard" report so that they can then distribute it to staff and say, "Are we hearing you correctly?" Because...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Member for her persistent advocacy on behalf of her constituents. This is a very concerning situation with some history. The Member's statement was quite a retort to my statement, and it explained the long history of this. I will not be tabling that report. When this report was initiated, the staff were told that it would be kept confidential.

While there was obviously a risk of it being released once it was distributed to all staff and to other parties, that was a risk that we knew we had to take. Despite the fact that it is publicly available, I will...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 52)

Again, I don't have those specific numbers. I am not sure how this is being funded. Perhaps it's out of the current budget that there have been some savings on travel, for example, so maybe that is what is funding this. I am not quite sure, but I can find that out and let the Member know.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 51)

I appreciate the question. We need more people in general in trades, but especially women in trades. I think the number of women in trades is around 5 to 7 percent of the entire profession, which is quite low, obviously. The department has recognized this, and in addition to getting out and promoting trades to everyone, there is also a renewed focus on promoting it to women and young women in schools. What we are going to be rolling out in the new year is a new visual and media campaign to promote women in trades. There is going to be promotion via the radio, newspapers, and social media...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 51)

Before the pandemic, there were some empty classrooms, and that's really why we were embarking on this transformation. We want to make the college the first choice for students not just in the North, but from across Canada. The pandemic obviously emptied out some classes, and we weren't able to have lots of face-to-face. I'm happy to announce that, in the upcoming September session enrolment, we will have face-to-face programming resuming at Aurora College. There are some caveats around that, of course. This was all vetted through the Chief Public Health Officer, who has allowed this, but the...