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

Board of Management

Nahendeh

Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box

1320

Email

Email

Phone

Extension

11128

Constituency Office

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

Phone

Statements in Debates

Mr. Thompson's Reply

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my reply to the budget will be a bit different from the one I was working on this past Thursday. Working behind the scenes has brought us closer to a final agreement on the budget. It has been a long process, from closely reviewing the business plans to finding common ground, and finally getting closer to a budget that we can agree to pass. I realize there is still some work to be done, but I feel we can reach a final agreement that meet the needs of the residents of the NWT. This being the third budget, I thinking we are getting better at listening to one another...

Question 122-18(3): Procurement Policies and Impacts on Non-Governmental Organizations

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

I thank the Minister for that answer. Mr. Speaker, during the set of procurement policy oral questions with the Premier on February 14, 2018, the Premier stated that concerns around procurement are primarily due to difference of understanding and that, if Members were to provide a list of problems, a review could result. Mr. Speaker, does the Minister agree NGOs being excluded from registering under BIP is an issue, and will he commit with the Premier to finding a workable solution?

Question 122-18(3): Procurement Policies and Impacts on Non-Governmental Organizations

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as a follow-up to my Member's statement, we clearly see a disconnect within our government's mandate in regard to supporting diversity and capacity building in our territory. By preventing NGOs from registering under the Business Incentive Policy, a policy, I must add, that has not been reviewed in over a decade, and as I pointed out in my statement earlier today, Mr. Speaker, the policy is a legal contravention of the Societies Act.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Infrastructure indicate to the House when and by what process has the Business Incentive...

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that. I am looking forward to that briefing, so at this point in time those are all my questions for this area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Okay, so that is into another activity, so I will wait for that question, there. Thank you to the Minister for that clarification. In regard to the budget, on page 41 we saw an increase for early childhood development and learning of $2.695 million, so can the Minister explain what this huge increase is on? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that clarification. So are we going to be going to 17.3 per cent from junior kindergarten to grade 12, or is it going to be a different number? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got to come back to this inclusive schooling thing so that I can get a clearer understanding of it. The 17.5 per cent is based on kindergarten to grade 12, and with junior kindergarten, you are putting $881,000 into the program. Is this correct? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. On page 33, contract services went down to $780,000. Can the Minister explain what the change is between 20172018 and 20182019? There is a difference of $107,000.

Question 122-18(3): Procurement Policies and Impacts on Non-Governmental Organizations

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that long-winded answer about working with us on the other side of the table. You know, that hallway works both ways. You can actually walk down to our side, too, and when we bring it up, you can actually talk to us about it. I am a little concerned with your answer there, but I will go on to my next question.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss not to point out the NWT Societies Act has provisions that clearly articulate that an NGO can be deemed as a corporation by way of registration, yet the BIP application process does not recognize this law...

Question 122-18(3): Procurement Policies and Impacts on Non-Governmental Organizations

Debates of February 20, 2018 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

I thank the Minister for his answer. I am not arguing that it is the best in the world, but we have some problems with it. Let's be honest here. We heard last week that we had problems, and this week we are bringing problems here again, Mr. Speaker.

To be clear, under our current GNWT procurement process, NGOs are excluded from our BIP process. Mr. Speaker, I can certainly see how this can be seen as a level playing field. Can the Minister indicate by what process or methodology do NGOs compete fairly versus a private business in our RFP procurement process?