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 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all I'm going to talk about some good things that are happening out there. It's great to see that the government is looking at the Western Canada Lottery Act and actually bringing it into the system so we're not losing the million dollars. Now, give credit where credit is due on that. However, when we come to looking at these -- I know, sorry. Shock to the heart. When it comes to the multi-sport games, we see a reduction of $500,000. We're losing $150,000 to the games. These games belong to the Government of the Northwest Territories, and if the government doesn...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to recognize Jim Antoine, the youngest oldtimer of this last weekend, for standing here today. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I greatly appreciate the Minister and the department looking at this. I know in my smaller communities are getting $14,000 from this pot of money, from the smaller communities, and it goes up all the way up to Yellowknife. The smaller communities are suffering from this. Fourteen thousand dollars, it sounds like a lot of money, but it isn't a lot of money in the smaller communities. I look forward to this. Will the Minister make a commitment to, once this review is done, to share it with the committee? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Mr. Schauerte for his answer. Just to understand this correctly, I am looking at the Western Canada Lottery program funding framework they are looking at, and they are saying that anything after over $5.1 million, 80 per cent of this is going to multisport games. So is this the way the government is going to use the lottery dollars now, after it's over the $5.1 million, to fund multisport games? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for his answer. Will the Minister make a commitment, or check with the detachments, that the budgets are being allocated, or actually fully utilized? In other words, going into Wrigley, they have $100,000; are they actually utilizing this funding to provide service? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my colleagues. I would like to say the fans were entertained with some great hockey, especially the Old-Timers Tournament, where they got to witness those young gentlemen skate their hearts out.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank all the sponsors, community and regional businesses, for their support. I would like to say a big thanks to the referees from Yellowknife, Hay River, and Fort Simpson, who did a great job at all three weekends. As well, to the rec staff and the groups that ran the canteen. A+ job. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for her answer. I guess we are going to have to disagree on this. Unfortunately, she makes the decisions, and I do not. We will have to live with that.

In regards to the recreation funding, the honourable Member from Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh talked about it. When was the last time this program has been evaluated? In other words, the funding that is being allocated per community, when was the last time it was evaluated besides when it was implemented? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

I thank the Minister for that commitment. I am looking forward to that information  which brings us to the multisport games. Can the Minister please provide us with the rationale of why they are cutting $150,000 from NWT Games? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just looking at numbers in the communities, and I see 13. Maybe that is, the lowest is a concerning one. I am not too sure. Looking at these numbers, Wrigley's has the fourth highest call for services, and we only have two patrols. I'm looking at Jean Marie, and they have had 32 calls for services and 19 patrols. Jean Marie is actually on a road system. Wrigley's has to wait on ferries and that. My concern is: how is Wrigley being serviced with only two patrols there, if that is what the numbers are correct according to the business plan? Can the Minister confirm...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am just going to go back to the position in Nahendeh there and those three positions. The Minister said if it is not broken, we are not going to fix it. Well, is this program broken now and that is why we are fixing it? Thank you, Mr. Chair.