R.J. Simpson

Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs
Minister of Justice
Government House Leader

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

Hay River North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

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

Phone
Minister
Email
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that's more of a city of Yellowknife issue. They might have those numbers. So again, unfortunately, I don't have that but I will be looking into this further and seeing what sort of stats I can dig up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If the leadership council has some specific requests, I'm happy to hear those. We're happy to help however we can. If it's assistance looking for, you know, federal programs that could help operate a facility run by the leadership council or by an Indigenous government, we can assist with that. If there's information about the existing facilities in the community that they may be able to use, we're happy to assist with that. So I look forward to hearing directly from them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So earlier this year, this Assembly considered the main estimates which is the budget document for the Government of the Northwest Territories. One of the items in there was the Fort Smith Correctional Centre, the men's unit, and there were deliberations in this House and ultimately that budget was passed. And so the work that went in to the lead up to that is that we had a look at all of the programs and services we deliver across the Department of Justice, looked at what was legally required to be done, what programs and services were legally required to deliver, what...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Plain Language Summary for Bill 12: Business Day Statute Law Amendment Act; and, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Action Plan Committee Annual Report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So at minimum, they have first aid training. I'm not familiar with other types of medical training they might receive. But they're not paramedics, and I know they're often called on when anything happens. It doesn't matter what, the police are often your first call. So I want to make sure that they are not paramedics. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't have those numbers on hand so, unfortunately, I'm not able to provide that to the Member at this exact moment. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 35)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I recognize the impact that this will have on the community. I did travel to Fort Smith. I met with the leadership council, and I toured some of the facilities they have in the community. Some of those are GNWT facilities that they would like to operate out of. And the reason that, you know, we took those tours is I wanted to get the lay of the land of Fort Smith, see what resources that we had that could be provided to the community to assist in any sort of endeavour that they might want to embark on. The Department of Infrastructure has shared information with the...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 34)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Instead of just receiving a notice in the mail, staff went there to personally speak with employees, to let them know what the options are going forward, because there is no more funding for that facility at the end of this fiscal year. Thank you.