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
Shane Thompson
Nahendeh
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Shane_thompson@ntassembly.ca
Phone
867-767-9141 (link is a phone number)
Extension
11128
Constituency Office

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

Phone
867-695-3780(link is a phone number)

Statements in Debates

Committee Motion 26-18(3): Tabled Document 63-18(3): Main Estimates 2018-2019 - Education, Culture and Employment - Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, Carried
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am going to try to be brief on mine here. I have a number of comments that I would like to make.

I guess my first one: I would like to applaud the Executive for putting the $250,000 to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Council of Friendship Centres. I think that is a good investment. What my big thing is, is I would like to see it annually. I think that this organization does some really good work, and we should be doing it annually. It should not be just a onetime offshoot, so I am hoping that the department can look at that. I think that is a good investment for...

Question 81-18(3): Process for Disconnecting Service
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 8)

Thank you, and I thank the Minister for that, and I apologize. It just jumped into my head there, and I appreciate the direct response from the Minister and the commitment. I'm hoping they actually reach out by phone call instead of just by mail. So my last question to the Minister is: does the corporation have a policy that they follow to disconnect the power for good, and what is the threshold for this decisionmaking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 81-18(3): Process for Disconnecting Service
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 8)

I thank the Minister for his answer. Mr. Speaker, we have a number of individuals who live in public housing, and so they have to pay their bills accordingly and that. Can the Minister please advise, if a person lives in public housing, does the Power Corporation reach out to the local housing authority and advise them of the situation? In other words, if the power is going to be cut or restricted?

Member's Statement on Eulogy for Sarah Jane McLeod
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I regret to inform you that Sarah Jane McLeod passed away on October 12, 2017. Sara Jane Isaiah was known as well as Sally. She was born on September 27, 1933, in Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, to Eva Isaiah and Foster Browning.

Sally grew up in Aklavik as a ward of the church. She attended school there. As an adult, she returned to Fort Simpson, where she did odd jobs around the community before moving to Edmonton to work at the Charles Campsell Hospital. Later on, she returned to the North to work as a domestic worker for the family who ran the Forestry...

Question 79-18(3): Mental Health and Addictions Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

I thank the Minister for that great answer. It does help us understand better as we move forward. I guess I should have phrased it "for all people" and not just going out for treatment to the facilities. I thank the Minister for the clarification. Mr. Speaker, what is the department doing to help residents who return home from treatment with their after-care? Because it seems to me, when we talk about that, what are we doing? That seems to be a big issue.

Question 79-18(3): Mental Health and Addictions Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was asking questions to the Minister of Health and Social Services about the treatment centres, and I would like to follow up with some additional questions here today. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister please advise us in the past fiscal year how many adults and youth have we sent out for treatment and what were the associated costs with these programs? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 71-18(3): Guthrie House Model of Rehabilitation
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

I appreciate the Minister's answer in a little bit more in depth. It is good to see that we are doing those things. My next question is: Mr. Speaker, has the department looked at the Guthrie House model and seen if it is feasible to implement this type of model in the Northwest Territories?

Question 71-18(3): Guthrie House Model of Rehabilitation
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I don't know how I'm going to match that. Mr. Speaker, today I talked about Guthrie House and inmates who have trauma and addictions and that. My questions are to the Minister of Justice. In regards to dealing with inmates with trauma and addictions, can the Minister please tell us what the department does to help inmates deal with these matters while they are incarcerated? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 79-18(3): Mental Health and Addictions Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I find it very important, especially with the after-care. I mean, that is when they are back here, in the territory, so I appreciate your answer on that. The other big thing that we find, though, is family and the support system that we have here for the people coming back, so my next question to the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is: what support programs are available for family members and spouses who have loved ones who are attending addiction programs outside the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 79-18(3): Mental Health and Addictions Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 7)

I thank the Minister for that information, and I appreciate with the youth it is very complex, so I appreciate that number. I will move forward here. The next question I have for the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is: what programs are available to residents before they head off for treatment for the addiction? What do we do to prepare these people as they are going out for their treatments?