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

Question 927-18(2): Boarding Home Patient Services
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 85)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, I have heard a lot of positive things about the boarding home here in Yellowknife, however like most things, there are a few concerns that residents have raised, and I would like to raise them here today. Mr. Speaker, there are patients that have to stay in the boarding home long-term. Even some have resided permanently. Has the department looked at placing them in their own home without having short-term patients staying in their place? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 937-18(2): Nahendeh Residents Accessing Cancer Treatment
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 85)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Minister for the answer. It kind of leads in to my next question. With people with chemo treatments and that, can the Minister start working with these patients to put them in hotels until a policy is in place so their immune systems don’t allow them to catch other diseases such as colds and stuff like that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 915-18(2): Emergency Response Systems in Nahanni Butte
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

I thank the Minister for that answer. I think the community will be happy to at least get some of their costs back, and I greatly appreciate it. In normal situations, Fort Simpson is the location where people get located to. Unfortunately the community, with the ferry and that, decided to go to Fort Liard. Fort Liard did a great job, but will the department be looking at getting the community of Fort Liard better prepared for future situations so that they can actually evacuate to Fort Liard instead of Fort Simpson, which has to rely on a ferry system?

Question 915-18(2): Emergency Response Systems in Nahanni Butte
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on my Member's statement with questions for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. Mr. Speaker, since the community initiated the evacuation to Ford Liard, does the department cover the costs incurred by the community of Nahanni Butte? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 922-18(2): Wildlife Officers
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

I thank the Minister for that information. I will be sharing this information with my residents that have concerns, and I thank him for that. I guess my last question here is: can the Minister explain what the process is for outoftown hunters or outofterritory hunters to come in and check in so that we are aware that they are out there?

Question 922-18(2): Wildlife Officers
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess the big concern is that when we see the hunters, it is usually on Friday to Sunday and Monday. We are hoping, with the Minister's permission, that they can start working with the department and the communities about this. The other issue is with these nonresidents that come in is that they are leaving garbage, and they are using people's cabins. Is this something that the department does monitor, or is it just that people are able to leave garbage and use whatever facilities are available to them?

Question 915-18(2): Emergency Response Systems in Nahanni Butte
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I agree with you. I hope it never has to happen again. Unfortunately, in my 23 years, I have seen a number of evacuations. I am hoping that you are going to be working with the Hamlet of Fort Liard so they can be better prepared. My last question is about the communication system. Unfortunately, the community used Facebook as their way of getting information out about how to evacuate, and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs used emergency bulletins and web pages to get that information. However, when the community evacuates, they are on the other side of...

Question 915-18(2): Emergency Response Systems in Nahanni Butte
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

I thank the Minister for that answer. During this situation where they evacuated, halfway through, all of a sudden the EMO committee was activated, and they actually encouraged the residents to stay in Ford Liard. With that extra day of costs, will the department be covering those costs?

Member’s Statement on Nahanni Butte Wildfire Evacuation
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on September 7th, while on a regional tour, I was travelling into the communities of Nahanni Butte. Arriving into the community, the weather was good. During our visit, the wind shifted and started to pick up. By the end of the day, we witnessed smoke and some ashes start to engulf the community.

Upon my return to Fort Simpson, I received an update from the Department of MACA about the situation. No emergency at that point. Unfortunately, with Mother Nature anything can change in a heartbeat. During Thursday night, the community leaders decided that it was...

Question 922-18(2): Wildlife Officers
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 84)

I thank the Minister for both answers. It is unfortunate. I have had concerns from our residents saying that we have hunters using their cabins, and that is unfortunate. I respect that they do not have jurisdiction on it. I could probably answer this question as well, but I am going to ask the Minister anyway. What are the department officers able to do when they are out there and they see people under the influence, whether it is on the road or in boats? What is their role? What can they do to address this issue?