Shauna Morgan

Member Yellowknife North

Shauna Morgan was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to represent the constituency of Yellowknife North.

Ms. Morgan was born and raised in Barrie, Ontario. Having called Yellowknife home for the past 15 years, she has embraced the dynamic, creative and eclectic lifestyle in Old Town near Great Slave Lake.

Ms. Morgan’s commitment to public service is evident in her two consecutive terms on Yellowknife City Council from 2015 to 2022. During this time, she held pivotal roles, including Deputy Mayor, Chair of the Community Energy Planning Committee, and Chair of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness.

Ms. Morgan holds degrees in International Development (B.A. Hons) and International Affairs (M.A.), specializing in community economic and political development in remote and Indigenous communities globally. She worked with a grassroots cross-cultural peacebuilding movement in the Philippines from 2002 to 2003. Her master's research delved into negotiations between mineral exploration companies and First Nations in Canada, focusing on land access during the earliest stages of mineral exploration.

Over the past 15 years in Yellowknife, Ms. Morgan has prioritized work at the community level. Working with private consulting firms and a non-profit thinktank focused on clean energy, she served as a resource person to Indigenous governments and communities across the NWT. Her contributions ranged from planning renewable energy projects to housing initiatives, building cross-cultural environmental research and monitoring programs, and navigating the complexities of major resource extraction projects.

Ms. Morgan has drawn on her well-rounded skill set to diversify her professional pursuits. While serving as a City Councillor, she managed her own piano teaching studio, worked as an on-the-Land educator with Bushkids NWT, and contributed for many years as a full-time member of the Snow Castle construction crew and snow carving team. Additionally, she engaged in facilitation and consulting contracts.

Active in the arts community, Ms. Morgan provides piano accompaniment for Yellowknife’s Aurora Chorealis (adult community choir) and Fireweed Children’s Choir. She served as a Board member for the Yellowknife Women’s Society and a weekly volunteer with Food Rescue and has dedicated time to the Yellowknife Ski Club and Victim Services.

Ms. Morgan’s love for the land is palpable in her adventurous spirit. She enjoys a myriad of outdoor activities in the North across all seasons, from whitewater and flatwater canoe trips to hiking in Auyuittuq National Park and along the Canol Trail. Her passion extends to cycle touring, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and hunting for moose and ducks with her partner.

Yellowknife North Electoral District

Committees

Accountability and Oversight
Social Development
Economic Development & Environment
Member Shauna Morgan
Yellowknife North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Extension
12170
shaunamorgan.yknorth@gmail.com
Constituency Office
Email
Email

Statements in Debates

Member’s Statement 73-20(1): Staffing the Health Care System
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about health care which is clearly a priority for Members here although perhaps we have different areas of top concern.

It's our largest operating budget. And to be clear, a lot is at stake here. Much more than money. It's a matter of preserving lives and taking care of people when they're suffering the most and providing a sense of security for our families, as Mr. Nerysoo was just describing. But it should alarm us that NTHSSA has been bleeding money since it was established with an accumulated deficit of at least $200 million.

Now, I have many...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Yeah, and I understand this may not be able to be resolved today, but I think it speaks to sort of a dilemma we have that, you know, this is this is not a new initiative or like a temporary initiative. It's at the moment keeping 26 people housed that otherwise would be on the street and yeah, I guess I'll leave that for now but just wanting to put out that in the future I think we need to reconsider how we fund services like this, that I think we would all agree are essential and sometimes we do inhouse and sometimes contract out but very much take for granted that there are volunteers and...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Okay. That's all the questions I have at this moment for around Education, Culture and Employment. I assume they'll be an opportunity to return when we get to other departments if okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So my question is around funding for early learning and child care. I know that the department is still trying to work out a new funding mechanism for early childhood partners and that will require some upfront payments to child care providers by the end of the first quarter. And so given that my understanding is that this is still not settled yet, the new funding mechanism is in flux, can the government give us any reassurance of how they know that the estimates here will be enough to make sure that we can keep our child care providers operating and afloat given that the...

Tabled Document 32-20(1): Priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to table the document entitled Priorities of the 20th Legislative Assembly. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 59-20(1): Retention Strategies for Healthcare Professionals
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that the Minister might not have this data at her fingertips now, but can the Minister commit to providing Members with the total cost spent on agency nurses and locum doctors for this past fiscal year and compare that to preCOVID times showing trends over time, so providing the stats on cost spent on agency nurses and locum doctors over time?

Question 59-20(1): Retention Strategies for Healthcare Professionals
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. So noting in the Minister's statement today that one of our current initiatives is employee engagement for retention, can the Minister describe any specific retention strategy that we currently have in place that would hopefully lead us to decrease our reliance on agency nurses and locum doctors? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement 73-20(1): Staffing the Health Care System
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So in trying to pinch pennies, we are costing our system dearly. Increasing hostility and miscommunication between staff and administration lead to a downward spiral of morale and an increasing spiral of costs.

Mr. Speaker, we need to put resident health care professionals at the centre of any strategy moving forward, to communicate clearly with them, to find out what they need to avoid burnout, to treat them as partners in designing a sustainable health care system. Thank you.

Motion 15-20(1): Extended Adjournment of the House to February 20, 2024
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker,

I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member from Hay River North, that notwithstanding Rule 2.1, when the House adjourns on Friday, February 9th, 2024, it shall be adjourned until Tuesday, February 20th, 2024;

AND FURTHER that any time prior to February 20th, 2024, if the Speaker is satisfied after consultation with the Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier time during the adjournment, the Speaker may give notice and thereupon the House shall meet at the time stated...

Question 44-20(1): Child and Youth Counsellor Initiative
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So it sounds like there was a sense of urgency last fall to make these changes to allow more school to allow schools to hire the counsellors that they need. Can I ask the Minister, have these changes that were implemented in the fall of 2023 resulted for this school year in more counsellors, personal support workers, mental health workers being hired in schools; has it achieved that goal for this school year? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.