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 , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So as I stated, the department has gone out and has been working directly with child care providers. There's always ongoing discussions with the Early Childhood Association. On the website there is a lot of information for parents. We are trying to determine what the wait lists are. You know, a number of parents will put their names on a number of different wait lists. We don't really have a sense of, you know, how many duplicates there are so it's very unclear at this point. So we're trying to get to the bottom of that as well because we want to make sure that we know...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I believe just last week is when the department really went out and started working with child care providers to get a better understanding of the financial situation. Based on the feedback, the wage grid will be based on geographic location, current wages, roles, responsibilities, experience, postsecondary education, other education, and Indigenous knowledge. And as we develop it, there may be more factors to be taken into account. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Letter to Chair of Standing Committee on Social Development Regarding Government of the Northwest Territories Intervening in Supreme Court of Canada Case on the Report of Child and Family Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to recognize a page from Hay River North who has been with us this week, Mr. Nicolas Graham. Right now he's a page, and you might see him sitting around the room but I'm confident that one day he will be sitting in one of our seats. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've added quite a few new RCMP positions since I've become Minister. I sometimes have difficulty keeping them straight, which year we've added them, but I do know that we have added a number of positions in the Member's regions for those communities. And if not this year, the past couple years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you. One of the nice things about partnering with a large jurisdiction like British Columbia is that colleges and universities recognize that the way that BC does its curriculum and its grading, and so BC does use percentage grades for grades 10, 11, and 12. It's up to grade 9 where there is the proficiency scale that the Member is talking about. So there will be percentages for grades 10, 11, 12. As for grades 1 to 9, we're still working on what that might look like, whether or not we're going to fully adopt British Columbia's scale. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This month, they'll be ready. There is a plan for the training. It was released on May 23rd and so the actual plan is out there. I understand what the Member is saying these materials are not immediately available. There's no expectation that teachers will have to work over the summer. You know, that's the benefit of being a teacher. You get that little bit of time off in the summer there so we're not trying to burden teachers with anything.

I will say that in the upcoming school year, there will be some teachers who will be trialing the new British Columbia curriculum...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 160)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, again, I have to look into it; I don't have that information. But what I will say is that persons with disabilities and seniors, so people who we don't expect to you know, to go back into the workforce, they are often what's called payrolled. So they only have to submit their financial information once every three months, six months, every year perhaps. And so when you don't have to submit, you know, monthly, when it's every 12 months, you know, that could cause issues. People might not be, you know, as familiar with the process if they've only done it, you know...