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 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. Mr. Guy.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly.

Question 594-18(3): Mental Health Services in Hay River
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Yes, as I mentioned, emergency cases are heard. They receive appointments within a month. That is a pretty fast and loose definition of "emergency."

I know that the health authority is a separate legal entity, but they receive their money through an allocation through the Department of Health and Social Services. We are ultimately responsible for them. Can the Minister reallocate some resources from the public service, from his department, to help with this backlog in Hay River?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. Any further comments from the committee on the $75-million activity? Nothing further from the committee. I will call this activity. Infrastructure, asset management, operations expenditure summary, activity total, $75,890,000. Does committee agree?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. Anything further from committee? Mr. O'Reilly.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. I just wanted to make sure it doesn't get lost in the mix, because there are some very big projects here, and I know that dredging the port of Hay River might not be a priority for some people, but for my constituents, it is a priority. So I would like to see that move forward.

Mr. Chair, I move that the Chair rise and report progress.

Question 594-18(3): Mental Health Services in Hay River
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Member's statement, I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services about the eight-month-long wait list in Hay River to receive mental health counselling services. How many staff are allocated to the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority community counselling office, and how many of the staff are actually in the office? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Minister.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. Mr. Guy.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 59)

Thank you. I guess my issue is that, if there is not a plan, all we have is what we hear. I can't really quantify the things that have been said. There are no goals that we are trying to reach. They are all one-offs. You know, I was at the mining symposium in Hay River a couple of months ago and KFN, the former chief of KFN was there, and he said that, for the Hay River Bridge, which is being reconstructed on KFN traditional territory, there were no training opportunities available for their members. Perhaps sometimes there are, but sometimes there aren't, and that is part of the problem.

Again...