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 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Child and youth mental health workers here. This is the section. Can the Minister provide us with an update on what's happening with these positions for the Deh Cho and the Tlicho please? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to have to rebut that. I have been in the Northwest Territories all my life. Yes, it is 1.3 million great square kilometres, 33 communities. The day I am talking about, the plane went from Edmonton to Fort Simpson to Inuvik to Yellowknife. It hit four communities. Again, this airline company or the contractor didn't provide the service that was much needed.

I realize sending patient escorts out earlier than required might not be the best solution. I have heard it before about the potential appointments being cancelled, capacity issues with boarding homes, et...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

I appreciate that, and I thank you very much. Kakisa, though, is in the Deh Cho, and I think the member from Deh Cho might get mad at me if I try to take that community away. My next question, and I do not know if this is the area, here is the cessation planning regarding smoking and that. I heard the Minister talk about a new program that they are implementing right now, so is this the area that we talk about this program right here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

I thank the Minister for his answer. I realize we live in the Northwest Territories, but, again, if a contractor is not providing the services, we need to make sure we do deal with that. Has the department approached the contractor or have they approached the Department of Infrastructure to help get this situation fixed?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. We've given these positions to the authorities and they make a decision if it's on a casual basis or indeterminate position. Is that correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the past four months, I have heard a number of issues with the contractor that provide medical travel from Fort Simpson. I have heard of flights being delayed, rerouted, and even cancellations. This is not good for our residents. I have heard about at least 15 situations in this time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share a couple of stories here today.

On New Year's Eve, the flight from Yellowknife to Fort Simpson return was cancelled. The airline decided to provide a different flight route, starting from Edmonton to Yellowknife via Fort Simpson via Inuvik. This meant...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I did propose the question to you, but not on the floor. You're working on the two that are not filled, are they actually being filled in casual positions right now or is it just vacant right now? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm hoping this is right. The home support workers, is it this section that we need to be in here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just a quick yes or no answer from the Minister first: child and youth mental health is in this section here? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 18)

Mr. Chair, I guess the first question is: is this where the chemo section is we should be talking about? We should be talking about the chemo. Thank you, Mr. Chair.