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 , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could the Premier please confirm: is this the section where GSOs are in? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess we just need a little bit more clarification, then, because in the budgets, it said converting mature equity leases to fee simple title. Are we converting equity leases to fee simple title, or are we not? Are we saying we have to worry about land claims that are settled here and land claims that are not settled here, and it's only going to be this area here? This needs to be clarified, because what I understood the Finance Minister to say was mature equity leases to fee simple title. That, to me, means it is going from...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 14)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer and being able to get that information out there. Will the Minister and the department be working with the five groups that actually access the lottery funds now and explain to them this is what the reality is going to happen in the future? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 14)

I wonder what caused management to lose $370,000. I shouldn't say "lost." We reallocated $370,000 between the Office of the Fire Marshal and the 911 program, to simply things. Is that correct, saying that?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 14)

I thank the Minister, who kind of answered my third question, so I'll go back to my second question. Has the Minister talked to his staff about this proposal that, supposedly, some of the former Department of Public Works talked to these proponents of this proposal?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 13)

I would like to thank the Minister for that answer. I greatly appreciate they are potentially looking at that. My next question is: what actions has the government taken to help Nahendeh communities reduce diesel usage, especially for the smaller communities?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I understand being reflective of the territory. I guess I'm a little bit concerned that Beau-Del and the Sahtu are getting three. Yellowknife, Deh Cho, South Slave are only getting three, as well. Yellowknife could actually probably have one or two strictly by themselves. Can the Minister or the department explain why we haven't looked at what is collectively good for the territories and put one in each region? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the GNWT has committed to implement a carbon pricing system this year. It is great that we are making headway by taking accountability for our contribution to the greenhouse gases, and a carbon tax is necessary for reducing our carbon footprint, but at the same time we want to improve residents' quality of life and not make their lives harder.

In my riding, propane and diesel are the main fuel sources used for heating, though many also try to use wood and pellet stoves to reduce costs. Most electricity is produced through diesel. This means that, in my...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I think what I heard was that it wasn't fully utilized this way, so now we are actually implementing these new changes to fully utilize this budget line; and if that's correct, the Minister can just say "yes" and that would be my last question for the day on this item. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 13)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess I'm going to have to try this a different way. I'm not arguing about your Student Financial Assistance program; it's probably the best in the world, and I'll give you that. I totally agree with you on that. The biggest challenge in the small communities is for students to access or get employment; we can't do it. In the smaller communities there is sometimes job-sharing with two people and they only work four hours a day and they work for two weeks and they get off a week. So that's where I'm coming across, is that...