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
Email
Phone
867-767-9141
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

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

Phone
867-874-6301
Minister
Email
Email
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Clause 28. Minister Sebert.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Testart.

Committee Motion 135-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act – Evaluation Framework for Restorative Process
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Committee Motion 135-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act – Evaluation Framework for Restorative Process
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Clauses 3 and 4.

---Clauses 3 through 5 inclusive, approved

Question 753-18(3): Effects of Fire Emergency Road Closures on the Northwest Territories
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

In addition to the highway being out, the railroad is closed, and not necessarily from the Steam River fire but from the High Level fire. As we learned yesterday, the rail bridge at Steam River was consumed by fire, apparently. Does the Minister know how long it would take CN to repair its railways after they have access to it? Because, if they have to rebuild the bridge, there might be other sections, and I'm just wondering how far behind this could put us in terms of the marine resupply.

Committee Motion 135-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act – Evaluation Framework for Restorative Process
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you. Minister.

Committee Motion 135-18(3): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act – Evaluation Framework for Restorative Process
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Minister. I will now open the floor to any general comments on Bill 30. First, we have Mr. Testart.

Committee Motion 136-18(3): Bill 30: An Act to Amend the Human Rights Act – Amendment to Clause 2 – Renumbered Subclause 2(1), Defeated
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This recommendation came from the Human Rights Commission. The Minister stated that there was no time for consultation, because we are just seeing this now on the floor of the House. It was in the report. It has been years since that report. This committee, which undertook the review of this bill, read the report. When the committee went on the road, they asked explicitly, in every community that they went to, how people felt about this clause. It is a little disingenuous to say that there no consultation. There was consultation; it's in black and white in the report.

The...

Question 753-18(3): Effects of Fire Emergency Road Closures on the Northwest Territories
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 77)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have some questions for the Minister of Infrastructure. It might be better suited to the Minister of ENR, but I've been assured by his staff that the Minister of Infrastructure can answer at least part of these questions. It's about the highway closure on Highway 35 in Alberta. Now, there's a concern that Highway 35 leads out of Alberta, and there's really not a lot of Alberta infrastructure north of that highway, but for us in the territory, that highway is very important. There is some concern that maybe Alberta isn't putting the resources in there they could be to...