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 , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. So there are two positions in the Tlicho region, two probation officer positions and they're both in Behchoko. And we don't have a plan right now to create a position in Whati. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. So one of the issues here is that this budget is this budget. In this budget, there is not funds to expand integrated case management to other jurisdictions or other areas in the territory. So I can't speak for what the next government will do so that is why I say there's a plan. Will it happen? I'm not sure. If I was around, I think I might go in a different direction. I can get the deputy minister to expand on the Member's question, though. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. I'd like to hand it to Mr. Bancroft.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

$5,314,000.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. With me, I have deputy minister of the Department of Justice, Charlene Doolittle. As well as James Bancroft, the director of corporate services. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. I'm not sure if we have that broken down by region. If you can just give me one second, I can thanks.

All right, so we don't have it broken down by region. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. The current plan is to look at other demonstration sites that we call ICM; in Yellowknife, a demonstration site. Looking at ways to create demonstration sites in other communities. However, I would say that there are other initiatives that might overtake this and perhaps change that plan going forward. So, yes, there's a plan. I'm not confident that that plan is the actual path forward. And I'm sorry if that's cryptic but this is we are going through, you know, some discussions and some soul searching about what we want to do in terms of integrated service delivery. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. So during COVID, a number of communities had difficulty spending their funds. So that could be the reason for the surpluses that the Member is talking about but we do offer the opportunity to carry that over if they are unspent. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you. So when you're a territorial judge, you travel the whole territory; you hear cases across the territory. And so if the judges would want to set up in Hay River, then we can have that discussion. But it's currently up to the courts to make that determination. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present the Department of Justice’s main estimates for the fiscal year 20232024. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $8.5 million or 6.2 per cent over the 20222023 Main Estimates. These estimates support the mandate objectives while continuing to meet the GNWT's fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending.

Highlights of the proposed main estimates include:

Forced Growth funding totaling $6.2 million of which $56,000 is increased funding available to essential partners impacted by rising inflation. The remaining...