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

Shane Thompson
Nahendeh
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Constituency Office

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Giant Mine Remediation Project has been aware of the potential change to the GNWT environmental guidelines for contaminated soil or remediation. Current remediation activities, as defined by the closure and completion plan and the water license, are based on the 2003 guidelines, which were adopted by the land and water board at the time. It is important to note that both the 2003 and the revised 2023 guideline allow proponents to carry out a site-specific assessment to determine suitable criteria using soil remediation based on consideration for site factors and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do not believe a plain language summary is required. Mr. Speaker, the guidelines provide a short overview of the methodology and approach taken, which is accessible on Have Your Say web page. The Have Your Say web page provides an email address that is monitored daily. Any specific questions the public might have are reviewed by staff and responded to as required and in a timely manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did promise that both fathers, I'm going to embarass our pages here, Zach Mandeville, your dad is very proud, and he was very excited to see you here.

Sula Ray, thank you very much for being here. Your dad said to bug you and I've been able to do that. So thank you for that.

Lee Mandeville, a respected ECC officer, and I thank him very much. As well as an entertainer and he did have cold fingers, he said, yesterday, but I didn't notice a beat a change in his music, so.

And as well from the Deh Cho, Mary Jane Cazon. Thank you very much for the work you've...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I must apologize. This reply to the Commissioner's address is going to be a bit all over the place, and I ask my colleagues for their patience.

Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the response to this year's unprecedented wildfire season. Many people across the NWT have recognized the dedication and hard work of everybody involved in protecting our communities, residents, and critical infrastructure, and many Members of this House have expressed their gratitude during the final session of the 19th Legislative Assembly. I want to begin by acknowledging that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said, I think it was his first question, we will address the part of What We Heard report will be provided. We will also put it on our website. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in developing the guidelines, input was provided by several academic arsenic researchers, a health risk expert with the Giant Mine Oversight Board, and the GNWT departments. GNWT staff will continue to discuss the guidelines with land and water boards as part of the current public engagement process. Public comments and concerns will be addressed in a What We Heard summary report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Revisions to arsenic criteria were undertaken through a structured and scientific risk assessment process to determine approximate background criteria based on the evaluation of new data and methodology since 2003. This process includes assessment of human health risk, and it was concluded that these levels of arsenic are safe for Yellowknife residents. Human health risk assessments look at all exposure pathways. Examples include how people use the land and where they can get their food, whether it is from the land or grocery store. And these are all factors that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the public engagement period for this guideline was opened on August 4th, 2023, and has been extended until October 15th, 2023, due to the evacuation. The standard GNWT engagement period is between four to six weeks. Given the evacuation, the department has extended this engagement timeline just well beyond the sixweek period. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 167)

Yeah, thank you. And I'd just like to add to that there. It also gives AOC some tools. Right now, Cabinet, the tools, the Premier has. The Premier can make those decisions. But AOC would have to bring it to this House to do something. So this gives the tools to AOC to deal with their situation. It doesn't have to come to the House. So that's why I am supportive of this. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 166)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we did put a Minister in there, I did contact the MLA and explain that we would be doing this. Mr. Speaker, the first thing that the Minister had to do was find out about the deficit. Right now, we're at $2.5 million, and we're still looking into the situation. So that there is part of the situation. The other part of the situation is this past summer, we've had, you know, fires, evacuations. The South Slave staff has been pretty busy dealing with that, but we now have them back in and we will be working with them on that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.