Shane Thompson

Member Nahendeh

Speaker

Shane Thompson was re-elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly after serving in the 18th and 19th Assemblies representing the constituency of Nahendeh. Mr. Thompson is the Honorable Speaker of the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Thompson was first elected to the 18th Assembly in November 2015 and served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development. Mr. Thompson was also a member of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures, and the Striking Committee.

Mr. Thompson was born on July 11, 1963, in Hay River. He has lived in Kugluktuk (Coppermine), Inuvik, Hay River, and in Edmonton, while at the University of Alberta. Fort Simpson has been his home since 1992.

Mr. Thompson previously served two terms (three years each) as an elected official with the Fort Simpson District Education Authority, spending the last four years as the chairperson. Over the past 35 years, he has served on various community and territorial boards.

Mr. Thompson was employed as the Senior Sport and Recreation Coordinator with Municipal and Community Affairs (GNWT) in the Deh Cho region before being elected as a Member.

Mr. Thompson completed the Community Recreation Leaders Program at Arctic College in 1989 and is currently working on a Masters Certificate on Evaluation at the University of Victoria and Carleton University. He also completed three years towards an Education degree at the University of Alberta.

Mr. Thompson is an active volunteer with Northern Youth Aboard, CBET and Fundamental Movement, and HIGH FIVE®. As well, he is a past member of the Sport North Federation Board, NWT Softball and of NWTRPA, and the past president of Seven Spruce Golf Course.

Mr. Thompson is the father of seven children - five daughters and two sons – and has nine grandchildren.

He has been a Justice of the Peace since 1991.

Nahendeh Electoral District

Committees

Nahendeh
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
11128
Constituency Office

9706-100th Street
Fort Simpson NT X0E 0N0
Canada

Phone

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the 20212022, it's basically approximately $36 million. So the second part of the question is what will it cost. Over $3 billion in investment in their infrastructure, which is basically not $5 million but it's going to cost them $70 million a year to replace it. So when the Member says, well, we can achieve that, it's not that easy to achieve, to find $70 million. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you. I have to give the Member her tenacity; she's very passionate about this.

We do give budgets to the municipalities. They can allocate money for those type of activities should they wish. Again, I do not want to be the one telling them what to do. I would encourage them to help. I know, like I say, in the community that I live in, again the three areas, whether it's the band, the Metis, or the village, they work together. And then in some of the other communities, the band does that. So I would encourage communities to work and help our less fortunate people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 91)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, communities can make a decision on how they spend their money. They get money from the government, and then they develop a budget. Some communities have set aside for emergency operations. Some have set up for special projects; i.e, it could be housing; it could be sports; it could be however they donate however they feel fit. So, again, the community has that opportunity to budget for it and move forward on it. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: NWT Climate Change Action Plan: Annual Report 202021; NWT Water Stewardship Strategy Action Plan 20212025; NWT Water Stewardship Strategy Action Plan 20212025 Plain Language Summary; and the Responding to Climate Change in the NWT Plain Language Overview Report 2020/21. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for that detail, I'm going to have to reach out to the department. I mean, that there involves a lot of people, departments. We need to find out, because right now I know the Alberta government's talking about it, but we've reached out to them. We're not supportive of this presently or even in the future. So we need to reach out to the federal Minister and to the Alberta Minister to get that information. But for further detail as to the question that the Member asked, that there is going to involve some research. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you. Usually the Member gives me the question ahead of time but this is good; I actually had a conversation with our staff just recently about this very topic.

So we've reached out to the federal minister to have this actual conversation about trying to get a position on the board. We've had communications with the Alberta government to work on this. So we are having these dialogues back and forth with the minister of Alberta as well as the federal minister, and we're trying to get this resolved. This has been a very long issue for not just only the Member but our Indigenous governments...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, climate change is one of the most critical issues we face today. I am pleased to report on actions the GNWT is taking to address its impacts here in the NWT.

As a territory, we are responsible for less than 0.2 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions but we are experiencing climate warming at a rate that is three times the global average. We have already seen significant changes that are impacting our environment, our economy, our infrastructure, and our way of life. We are seeing changing ice conditions, coastal erosion, rising sea levels, and melting...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you. I will get back to the Members and the Committee of SCEDE with the information that we're able to provide. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's not Yellowknife North asking the questions today. We will look at back I do not want to make a commitment here in the House to say that we will share. I don't see why not but we want to make sure we do it right. So I will reach out back, talk to the department, have the frank conversations on what we can and cannot share, and then we'll get back to the House with that answer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 90)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mary Bernadine MacKinnon, formerly known Petrie, known to us as Bernie, peacefully passed away in the arms of her partner, Terry Arnold, on August 23 in Happy Valley LabradorNewfoundland at the age of 62 from a heroic battle with cancer.

Born on the west side of PEI, she worked hard all her life. She was a cook in many seafood restaurants, she was a co-captain on a lobster boat, and a general manager of Subways. She and her husband ended up coming north to work for the Northwest Company, known as the Northern Store. They moved from Hay River to Fort Smith...