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

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

With me today, I have Ian Rennie, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice; and, Paul McKenna, legal counsel with the Department of Justice. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here today to present Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act.

The purpose of Bill 79 is to bring the Northwest Territories into compliance with the Canadian Free Trade Agreement; and, to make unrelated improvements to the functioning of the Court of Appeal.

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement is an intergovernmental agreement between the Canadian provinces and territories which has replaced the former Agreement on Internal Trade. The Government of the Northwest Territories signed the new agreement in April 2017 and is now obligated to make changes to our...

Question 1527-19(2): Student Financial Assistance Regulations
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So by linking the number of years of schooling to the remissible loan program, I'm not sure if that is necessarily a retention tool because you have to go to school first before you get the SFA. The remissible loan actually is remissible if you move back to the territory. So a resident, and I know some people who moved here when they were 17, 18 so they didn't actually do school here, but now they have families here. But, you know, they've made comments that I would have liked to have been able to access some sort of student financial assistance. So this is an...

Question 1527-19(2): Student Financial Assistance Regulations
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So actually you can apply for SFA online. That is an advancement that has happened in the past few years. I think what the Member is referencing is that there is one form, the student enrolment form that needs to be filled out by the school, and so that is still a paper form. However, we have been and in terms of the ability to check your loan balances online, we don't have that; we are working with the Department of Finance to see if there is a way to make this happen. But I'll say that, you know, we don't have the IT infrastructure that you might see in some other...

Recognition of Visitors in the Gallery
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I did a Minister's statement on the Independent Legal Advice and Representation Program, and so I'd like to recognize some representatives from the WYCA here today. We have Hawa DumbuyaSesay, the executive director of the WYCA; Nomazulu Khumalo, the organizational development manager; and, Farah Rajan, the independent legal advice and representation coordinator. So we're happy to have our partners in the gallery with us today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Yes, I would.

Tabled Document 938-19(2): Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 75-19(2): Maximum Allowable Rent Increase for Private Rental Units
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 4319(2): Report on the Review of Bill 63, An Act to Amend the Official Languages Act; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 4819(2): Report on the Review of Bill 68, An Act to Amend the Child Day Care Act; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 4919(2): Report on the 20212022 Review of the Official Languages Act; and, the Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 7519(2), Maximum Allowable...

Question 1520-19(2): Paid Emergency Leave
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Yes, Mr. Speaker, absolutely we can, and we will report that publicly in the "what we heard" report that we develop based on this engagement. Thank you.

Question 1520-19(2): Paid Emergency Leave
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member said, yesterday this government announced the first ever Evacuee Financial Support Program, and so I think that's a big step forward. I get that the Member wants to build on that momentum and ask what's next. So I can say that in the Employment Standards Act, there are emergency leave provisions but that's emergency leave without pay, and so I think the Member is looking for something beyond that. But as of right now, there is no other emergency relief program. Thank you.

Question 1520-19(2): Paid Emergency Leave
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I will say I'm not the lead on this file but of course it takes a wholeofgovernment approach. So GNWT departments are working together to implement actions in goal 3 of the climate change action plan, which is focused on building resilience and adapting to a changing climate.

In preparation for the next climate change action plan, the GNWT is leading a territorial risk and opportunities assessment to help focus actions to address key risks like flooding. The GNWT is working to ensure the national adaptation strategy and its implementation provides resources to better...