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 159)

Thank you. This is costs that are incurred by the GNWT only. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I mean, I'm not the chair of AOC. I can't invite someone to attend a meeting that is not my meeting. So, once again, I mean, the Regular Members do have a role in this House. It's not just to stand up and ask questions. They do have power as a standing committee, and they can use that. So I recommend that this discussion, which happens in the House quite often, must be happening up in the Eagle Room of AOC, and so I would recommend that they get together, and they make that request to the commanding officer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

That is for the law clerk, I believe the Member said?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The RCMP don't share those kinds of details about investigations, with myself even. So what I can do is I can try I will reach out again and see what type of information is out there. I will say that it's my understanding that the RCMP are in contact with the family and when there is anything to update to the family with, they do that. But I can get back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you. So that would be a question for the Minister of health. I don't have an answer. But I don't believe that is the case. And I don't believe that, you know receipts are submitted and then the GNWT reimburses, I don't believe that's the practice. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, I had the honour today of inducting a number of people and an organization into the Education Hall of Fame, and we have a number of individuals today who were part of that ceremony. So I'd like to begin by recognizing Kelsey Wrightson who is with the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning. Dechinta was inducted in the category of postsecondary education, and they received the Minister's choice award.

Charlene Liske from N'dilo. She was inducted in the community outreach category.

Lima Baroryee She was inducted in...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Yes, I would.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to wrap up another school year, I want to highlight a number of exciting initiatives that reflect our government's commitment to improve student outcomes in the Northwest Territories. This semester, three high schools in the territory piloted the new Northern Studies 30 curriculum. This madeintheNWT high school course is the first in the territory to follow British Columbia’s curricular framework. Topics range from oral history and traditions to historical land use, colonization, language reclamation, NWT treaties and land claim agreements, consensus government, and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 94, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 157)

Mr. Speaker, three years ago I was mandated to initiate a review of our government's Student Financial Assistance Program with the goal of improving access to postsecondary education for all Northwest Territories residents by reducing barriers and ensuring benefit levels are meeting the needs of students. I am happy to say that we have completed our review and are now taking steps towards implementing necessary, significant changes to the program to better meet the needs of students.

The review examined the Student Financial Assistance Program's alignment with the Truth and Reconciliation...