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
867-767-9141
Extension
11128
Constituency Office

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

Phone
867-695-3780

Statements in Debates

Member's Statement on Procurement Policies and Impacts on Non-Governmental Organizations
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 12)

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, without question, non-governmental organization, or NGOs, provide essential and cost-effective services to the people of the Northwest Territories. These NGOs are sometimes a product of community-minded individuals who care about giving back to their fellow citizens, while other NGOs are creations of specialized services. What these NGOs contribute in taxpayer savings is hard to qualify, but it's sufficient to say that they can do much more with less than the GNWT can on any given day.

Mr. Speaker, last week in the House there was a heated exchange of...

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hopefully, this will be my last question on this page here. Has the department broken down this money, how they are going to allocate these funds? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I think probably some of my colleagues are going to have some other questions for that. I am going to go on to my next item here. You heard in my reply to the budget that we talked about new career and academic counselling positions. I have looked through the main estimates, and I am trying to understand. Where is it in this business plan? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that correction. I apologize. I did say 17.5. I wrote it down wrong.

In the future, is this number going to stay as a base number? I am hearing you say that it is going to be based on enrolment. I know right now you say it's 15 per cent you're legislated. You're at 17.3, plus the $881,000. My first question is: what is the percentage that we are actually putting into inclusive schooling now with $881,000? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to clarify, if the company is coming in and we are going to save some money, why aren't we hiring more people to save more money if we are trying to reduce this area? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Question 119-18(3): Medical Travel Coverage
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the second part of my Member's statement briefly talked about accessing traditional Dene treatment or Dene medicine, and there seems to be some confusion on how they can access that when I was talking with the elders in Fort Liard. My question for the Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Speaker: presently it is my understanding that medical travel only covers travel to the NWT borders, when they are accessing traditional Dene treatments. Can the Minister of Health and Social Services please confirm what the process is and how it is done? Thank you...

Question 114-18(3): Fort Liard Medical Travel
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 11)

I thank the Minister for the answer. In my conversations with some of the residents, they were concerned about exchanging of medical information between British Columbia and the hospital there in Fort Liard. I guess my question to the Minister in regards to that is: has this been one of the challenges that we see, and how are you able to resolve this issue?

Question 114-18(3): Fort Liard Medical Travel
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my Member's statement today to the Minister of Health and Social Services. As I stated previously, the issue of trying to get patients referred from Fort Liard to Fort Nelson to deal with their medical conditions has been a concern that has been going on for 25 years. I was really shocked when I heard that, and I've talked to the Minister about it. I realize he's only been in this portfolio for four years, I believe it is, so I feel sorry for him, but: can the Minister of Health and Social Services please provide the status of...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleagues for allowing us to come back to it. I would like to welcome a longtime friend Steven Cooper to the Assembly. Steven is the lead counsel for the Labrador residential school claim and currently the counsel for the 60's Scoop class, and most recently, the Indian Hospital Case Act. As well, I'd like to recognize Andrew Geisterfer, and I apologize if I got your name wrong that way, but who is in the process of becoming a member of the Law Society of the NWT and Nunavut, and this is his first trip to Yellowknife. Welcome.

Question 119-18(3): Medical Travel Coverage
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I will work with the Minister and sit down and talk to him about it to try to get some more information for the constituents. Maybe I will be able to share with other Members who are interested, so I thank the Minister for that commitment.

Has the department, Mr. Speaker, looked at bringing Dene healers up from down south to help residents, especially elders, when it is regarding their concern for their health? I will just leave it with that question, there.