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, 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.

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?

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?

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...

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?

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I apologize to the Minister. Yes, that's correct, the three options the department has worked on. If we can get that information so I can share it with the constituents, so they're aware of what we're trying to address. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you. I appreciate and thank the Minister for his answer. Can the Minister provide that information to myself and the community of Wrigley, when it's going to be done, when the maintenance and that is going to be done in the upcoming year? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am looking at Highway No. 1 and some of the concerns. Again, it talks about reconstruction. I have a section of road from N'Dulee Crossing all the way to Wrigley that I would love to trade Highway No. 3 for at any given day and so would the residents because there are some lines of sight that are problems. It's like a rollercoaster on that road and your stomach can actually go up to your throat in some points.

I'm trying to look at the Minister and I'll be asking some questions about Highway No. 1 and what they're going to be doing on that and the extent. I...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

As a member of that committee, I look forward to working with the Minister and Cabinet as we move forward for the small communities. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister explain what is going to happen to these projects that have already put applications in? Are they going to be able to be processed?