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 31)

Unfortunately, I can't make that commitment. I am becoming the Minister of "No." However, we do have a number of activities, things that various departments are doing. We are also working with NGOs to identify concerns and issues that we can help work with them. At the end of the day, as the Member says, you plan to fail or whatever the statement was. I get that one mixed up. If you fail to plan, you fail, but at the end of the day, we are working with the government departments to make sure that the issues are brought forth, that we can work to be able to achieve that. We have a variety of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Presently, the Minister responsible for Seniors doesn't have any fiscal or staff time allocated to me specifically; however, I do have a working relationship with various Ministers, in particular the Minister of health, and we are able to work together on various tasks and we are able to get work done that way. Also, in regard to resources, one of the things is that we are looking at our mandate letters and some of the challenges that we see facing us. We have reached out to AOC, and to my understanding, it has gone to the committees, and they are coming back and commenting on our ability with...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Mr. Speaker, today I'd like to rise and talk about some of the COVID-19 responses in the Nahendeh region.

Northerners throughout the area support local events and groups however they can. Things like the Lights On Program and the elementary school lunch program received donations monthly pre-COVID-19. That includes monthly donations. The North West Company Healthy Horizons Foundation donated $20,000 to the Lights On Program so that they could begin to build a snowboard park in Fort Simpson, and I'm happy to say it's been built. Since the pandemic started, they donated $1,000 to the local...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This government recognizes the importance of supporting our seniors and elders to ensure that they remain living safely in their own communities. The current mandate has several priorities which address key areas that impact the ability of seniors and elders to age in place, including housing, income, and finances; health support; community infrastructure and supports; and safety. Several departments are leading the work on this, including Education, Culture and Employment, Municipal and Community Affairs, Health and Social Services, Justice, and the NWT Housing...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

There are a number of opportunities for elders to reach out. There are emergency protection orders that they can reach out to Justice with the Alison McAteer House, so they are able to go forward with that. They are also able to reach out to the NWT Seniors' Society to help them, and they would give them direction on where they go, as well as working with Health and Social Services staff; they are able to work with them, as well. There are a variety of opportunities. As well, I would also encourage them to reach out to leadership and get them to help them, too, because then they can direct...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Part of the mandate and one of the priorities is we are working on that. Right now, we do have a hotline available for people to bring forth their concerns. We also have the work with NWT Seniors' Society who provide that information to us, and then we try to work with seniors moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes. I will be working with the Minister of Infrastructure on this, and we'll provide a briefing note to committee, SCEDE, on it. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following three documents: "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 249-19(2), Territorial Fire Centre;" "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 271-19(2), Impact on Camping Outside of Campgrounds;" and "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 272-19(2), Transfer of Land Within Municipal Boundaries." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

In response to concerns about flooding in Fort McMurray in late April, ENR began collecting water samples from the Slave River twice per week from the town of Fort Smith water treatment facility on May 1, 2020. ENR plans to continue this monitoring until mid-June 2020. These water quality samples are being analyzed for nutrients, salts, metal, hydrocarbons, and bacteria. This monitoring has not identified any concerns with water quality in the Slave River to date. ENR staff have completed a prior risk assessment to ensure that annual transboundary water quality samples for the Slave and Hay...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The GNWT was notified of a temporary suspension on March 30th by the Alberta government and the federal government. As well, at the end of April, the Alberta government had reached out to us. On June 1st, the bilateral management committee had a meeting and representatives of Alberta provided an update. We have also received correspondence from the Alberta government on monitoring as of June 3rd. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.