Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs

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

R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Constituency Office

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

Minister
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 16)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If we are if it's costing us more to deliver it than the fees, I'm not sure we want to increase the fees to cover the full cost. If we did that for ATIPP, it would be, you know, thousands of dollars everyone would have to provide for requests. But when the Member talks about reducing red-tape and this initiative, this is a conversation that I'm really excited to have with the rest of the Ministers because this is something that is across government. We had initiatives last year, the Minister of Finance has a nice little award sitting on her desk, a pair of golden...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 16)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will look into whether or not we even have that information. I'm not sure whether that information is collected or not. But I can look into it and then, if possible, we can put that information together. But I'm not even sure it's possible. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 16)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Northwest Territories Law Foundation 41st Annual Report for the Period Ending June 30, 2023. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I'd like to send that to the Minister of Finance. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think that it's clearly a public safety concern. If you need to contact someone because of an accident or because of an incident or because you see a wildfire that you want to report and there's no cell service, then that's an issue. And it's recognized as an issue not just here in the territory but really across Canada, because if you look at a map of cell coverage of Canada most of it is empty. Most rural areas do not have highway cell coverage, so it is a public safety issue that is known across Canada. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 15)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Followup Letter for Oral Question 8920(1): Wildfire Motion Response. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And this is actually something that's within the Department of Finance, and the Minister of Finance has answered this question many times before. So I would like to defer to her. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 15)

Mr. Speaker, every year the grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra School in Hay River travels to Yellowknife, and they visit the ledge. For the last four years they weren't able to do that, but this year, Mr. Speaker, they came back. And so I want to recognize Ms. Hoss' grade 6 class from Princess Alexandra who joined us today. We have Maliki Beaulieu, Skylar Cayen, Katanna McArthur, Noel Peters, Jager Walsh, Blakely Beck, Abigail Belanger, Kennedy Bolt, Shelby Cofwell, Shane Delorey, Nash Fraser, Olivia Frais, Sawyer Hurst, Charlotte Hinesruggles, Michele Longwey, AnnaLee Bunkin, Braden...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Yellowknife Centre on February 20th, 2024, regarding Consultation with Members of the Legislative Assembly on Policies and Strategies.

The Member asked about the government's internal employee survey requesting input to suggest where the government can save money. When we released the fiscal sustainability strategy on February 12th, 2024, we noted that all Government of the Northwest Territories' employees would be given the opportunity to provide input. That same day, we opened an online survey so employees could...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 14)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following five documents: Mandate of the Government of the Northwest Territories 2023 to 2027 Draft Inquiry Establishment Order (2023 Wildfire Season Preparedness and Response); Response to Petition 1-20(1): A Ceasefire and End to Canadian Support for the Plausible Genocide in Gaza; Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Motion 23-20(1): Call to Uphold Human Rights in Gaza; and, Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 152-20(1) Public Safety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.