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 , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank my colleagues for proposing the questions. Every time this is brought up in the House, the Minister states that minor changes were made to this program based on the evaluation report that was done. Right near the beginning of this report, it recommends that consideration should be given to the fact that the program is more than a curriculum, and community outreach should be considered a part of any future program. The community outreach that has been happening at The Tree of Peace includes workshops at the North Slave Correctional Centre, I believe the only...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Vanthuyne. Minister.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Minister, Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses to the House.

Committee Motion 104-18(2): Bill 16, An Act to Amend the Education Act – Amendments to Clause 4(b) (re: increase to grades 9-12 hours of instruction to 1000 hours), defeated
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Ms. Green. To the motion, Mr. Thompson.

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

All those opposed, please stand. All those abstaining, please stand.

Question 790-18(2): Commercial Fisheries Revitalization
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, this government recently released its Commercial Fisheries Revitalization Strategy. The execution of this plan is in its early stages. Part of the problem that we are facing is that the government does not have authority over the fishery, so we must wait on DFO to make the regulatory changes and the infrastructure investments that are needed to move things forward. I have a question for the Minister of Infrastructure: since this is a problem that we have to deal directly with Ottawa, how often are you meeting with your federal counterpart, the Minister...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Goldney.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Minister. Mr. Goldney.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have talked to the people in the schools, and they do not buy that answer. They do not think that is an acceptable answer, and that is why I brought it up, because I was looking for an answer that I could bring back to my constituents that they could at least respect. I will just leave it there for now. Continue on. Thank you to the Minister for his answers.

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 73)

All those opposed, please stand.