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 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm more concerned about actions than symbols. So I want the Ministers to work for seniors, not to have a token portfolio with no money or authority attached to it. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We've reached out to all MLAs and encouraged them to organize constituency tours where the MLA would set up we would go to the MLA's riding and meet with whoever the MLA would like us to meet with. So if the MLA would like to organize that meeting, I will attend. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is collaboration across departments; however, if I have an issue as an MLA and it involves a senior and it's about income assistance, I'm not going to the Minister responsible for seniors. I'm going to the Minister responsible for Education, Culture and Employment because that's where the authority and the money is. So if there's an issue, you should go to the Minister who actually has the ability to deal with that issue. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So there's a number of steps that need to be taken before there's a direct appointment. There's guidelines laid out for the department, how they're supposed to work through this. There is an assessment by the Cabinet secretariat, which is independent from the departments. There's the Ministers. So if the Member has some examples of things that we can do, I'm happy to hear about it. But from what I've seen, the direct appointment process works very similar to a normal HR process that we have in the GNWT. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I heard a lot of the comments. I don't know if there is a question at the beginning of those comments but if there is, I'd ask the Member to repeat it. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I don't think this House is aware of people who are hired through the normal channels, let alone people who were direct appointed. So informing the Assembly of every individual that comes on board and is employed by the GNWT isn't something we do. We don't do it when someone enters a competition and is brought on or when someone is direct appointed. When terms of direct appointments, the only direct appointments I've seen come across Cabinet for quite some time are direct appointments through three programs: The Indigenous gateway program, the internship program...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'm sorry, I'm a little dizzy from all that spin. I don't think there's any I don't think anyone here thinks that, you know, we value seniors less because we don't have a token portfolio. So I don't really know how to answer this. It's you know, I'll just leave it at that. I don't waste any more of the Assembly's time with my response. Thanks.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During this government, I chose not to assign any portfolios that had been assigned in previous governments that where Ministers responsible for something without a budget. So we don't have a Minister responsible for seniors, a Minister responsible for youth. And that was a conscious decision on my part because I saw those portfolios, and I heard from the Ministers who oversaw those portfolios, and I didn't think they were working based on everything that I saw and that I heard. When you are a Minister responsible for seniors with no budget, what is the point of that...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a national conversation. That's a federal government conversation. And I've taken the approach during this government to not wade into international affairs. We're focusing on our jurisdiction. There's a lot of work to do here. And I appreciate the sensitivities around this. I appreciate the comments the Member made earlier. There's no way that people cannot be moved by hearing that. But the Government of the Northwest Territories is focused on territorial affairs. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm not a fan of reorganization of departments unless there's a good reason and a good plan. It can be very disruptive. It can take away from actual work that needs to be done. You know, we don't need people spending time changing letterhead when they could be delivering programs. That said, I'm always happy to make changes that are for the benefit of the people of the Northwest Territories and if, based on the priorities, it appears that some reorganization or changes to portfolios or new portfolios are necessary, then I'm more than happy to entertain that. Thank you.