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

Extension

11120

Constituency Office

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

Phone

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 October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Mr. O'Reilly.

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you. Mr. Testart.

Committee Report 9-18(3): Report on the Review of Bill 18, An Act to Amend the Cities, Towns and Villages Act

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To commence consultation on Bill 18, the standing committee invited input on the bill from 99 local hotel and bed and breakfast (B&B) operators offering tourist accommodations in the six tax-based municipalities. This consultation list was kindly provided by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, who used the same list when consulting on the development of the bill. The committee also sent letters seeking input from the six impacted municipal councils.

Committee held a public hearing on Bill 18 in Yellowknife on September 19, 2018. At that hearing, committee...

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you, Minister. Ms. Green.

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Clause 2. Does committee agree?

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you, Minister. Welcome to the witnesses. I will now open the floor to general comments on this bill before we get into a clause-by-clause. General comments from committee. Mr. Testart.

Member's Statement on Broadband Connectivity

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about connectivity. If the Mackenzie Valley Highway or the road to the Slave Geological Province had been built when they were first proposed or in the decade since, the outlook for our economy would be much different, but because we lack basic transportation infrastructure that has been connecting southern Canada for over a century we are facing a relatively near-term economic crisis. However, Mr. Speaker, that's not the kind of connectivity I want to discuss. I want to talk about high-speed Internet access.

If we don't start to capitalize on...

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you. Ms. Green.

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

All those opposed, please rise.

Debates of October 30, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 46)

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Would the Minister like to bring witnesses into the Chamber?