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 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That's a long list of things to include. So I can say yes, I will commit to annual reporting and I will commit to seeing how many of those items that we can actually get on the list. But I think it's a great idea, and I'm happy to action the Member's request. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So we haven't even rolled out the first set of significant changes yet, and the Member's already asking for another set. So I can't commit to doing that. What I will say, as the Member has noted, you know, the SFA program was undersubscribed and so we looked at what new money we can find, what money is available internally, and what we could do with those funds. And so what we did is create a program that we could afford in that envelope. I do recognize what the Member is saying. There are still barriers that exist for some people to, you know, advance their education...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Mr. Speaker, with funding from the federal government, the Department of Justice is enhancing access to free legal advice and legal representation for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence through the establishment of the Independent Legal Advice and Representation Program.

In 2019, the Government of the Northwest Territories commissioned the Aurora Research Institute to conduct an evidencebased study to use as a guide to better support survivors of intimate partner, genderbased violence, and sexual assault in the NWT. Concurrently, researchers contracted by the YWCA NWT...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Yes, Mr. Speaker, absolutely we can, and we will report that publicly in the "what we heard" report that we develop based on this engagement. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Member said, yesterday this government announced the first ever Evacuee Financial Support Program, and so I think that's a big step forward. I get that the Member wants to build on that momentum and ask what's next. So I can say that in the Employment Standards Act, there are emergency leave provisions but that's emergency leave without pay, and so I think the Member is looking for something beyond that. But as of right now, there is no other emergency relief program. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I will say I'm not the lead on this file but of course it takes a wholeofgovernment approach. So GNWT departments are working together to implement actions in goal 3 of the climate change action plan, which is focused on building resilience and adapting to a changing climate.

In preparation for the next climate change action plan, the GNWT is leading a territorial risk and opportunities assessment to help focus actions to address key risks like flooding. The GNWT is working to ensure the national adaptation strategy and its implementation provides resources to better...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a pretty wideranging review of the Employment Standards Act so I wouldn't say that anything is out of scope. The questions that have been put to residents and businesses haven't specifically spoken to paid emergency leave. But residents are free to give their opinion on anything related to the Employment Standards Act. The online engagement survey is available until, I believe, June 18th, so there's a few more weeks, and so we'd love to hear feedback on this very timely issue. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 155)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to make a recognition as the MLA for Hay River North. In the gallery today, I have a couple residents from Hay River. First of all, of course my mother Bette Lyons, I'm always happy to have her in the gallery. And as well, longtime resident Mr. Edwin Morin is joining us today, too. So I just want to welcome them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So corporate registries is responsible for extraterritorial registration, so companies from outside of the territory who want to do work in the territory, as well as corporations in the territory. So that information, like I said, it can be publicly found. The directors, you know, the location of the office, so things like that are publicly available. If a municipality, an Indigenous government, is having difficulties, the Department of Justice is more than happy to help. If the Member has a specific issue that she would like to raise, she can send me an email, with...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs does have funding. The community government applies to applies for that funding to initiate or support a search of an area that is available. And it's my understanding that has happened and those funds have flowed to the town of Fort Smith to help support those efforts. Thank you.