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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can look into this issue. I know just as MLA, I often get people in my office looking for their income assistance. We tell them to come to check at 1 o'clock. That's often when they come in, maybe a day later. But once the payments are issued, it can take one to three days for them to be processed by the bank. So it could be an issue with that but I will look into this immediately. And the department is listening right now as well, so I'm sure they're frantically looking into it and will send me some information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So what the Member is talking about is an unacceptable situation where the, you know, implementation of a move towards universal child care will actually cause, you know, a collapse of the sector. So that is the primary thing that we don't want to happen and so we are working diligently to ensure that that doesn't happen. As part of the development of a new wage grid, we are also working on a new overall funding model. So as we work with centres, as we understand their revenues, their costs, their needs, we can put into place something that will ensure that the revenue...

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

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 94, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, be read for the second time.

This bill corrects inconsistencies and errors in the statutes of the Northwest Territories. The bill also deals with other matters of a minor noncontroversial and uncomplicated nature in the statutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, of course we're willing to explore innovative solutions. I have not had a chance to look at the report the Member tabled. It seems like every week there is a report coming out on child care and I do get to them as they come out, but I haven't got to this one yet so I'll have a look at it and go from there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I said, every time I hear from Members in the House, I do ensure that information is conveyed to the RCMP, and the leadership in those communities have direct relationships with the RCMP as well so I'm sure they're also conveying that information. So, you know, between all of us, I'm sure the message will get out there. Thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide a personal explanation to clarify why I, as Attorney General, made the decision to intervene in the Supreme Court case relating to Bill C92, an Act respecting First Nations, Inuit, Metis children, youth and families.

Yesterday, it was stated in this House that the intervention was an indication that the GNWT reversed its support for the law passed by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation pursuant to this federal Act. This is not accurate. The very first sentence of the oral submission to the Supreme Court of Canada was, quote, "Let me begin by saying that the...

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

Thank you, and I will amend what I said. Those officers are dedicated to those communities, but they are not stationed in those communities. As the Member points out, they don't have detachments. Like I said, we've added a number of positions. We're always working with the RCMP to enhance their ability to do their job, and we will continue to do that. We are exploring options through the First Nation and Inuit Policing Program with the federal government. So we recognize these concerns, and we are looking at ways to address them. There's also, you know, other ways to address some of these...

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I've heard these concerns directly from the teachers. I met with the NWT Teachers Association a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago now, and, you know, they were expressed directly to me, so I have been asking conversations with the department who was very alive to this. You know, most of them are teachers themselves so they understand this. We have been working on the online courses, which teachers will be able to access at their leisure.

There are professional development days. ECE is providing facetoface seminars. So there's a number of ways that we are working with...

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I think there might have been some miscommunication. There is no expectation that we need to fully transition to British Columbia's curriculum before the contract with Alberta Education ends. The contract ends in 20252026, marking the last year of diploma exams and the last year that students in grade 12 will use the Alberta curriculum. Implementation of the BC curriculum in all grades is anticipated for the 20272028 school year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, if the money is issued, that's one thing, but I can't control when it's processed through the banks. So if I could will it to happen, I would, but the Minister of Finance has also informed me that she has her staff looking into this to make sure it's not an issue on their end. So we're taking an allofgovernment approach to deal with this issue. Thank you.