Roger Allen

Roger T. Allen was elected as the first Member of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district for Inuvik Twin Lakes on December 6th, 1999. In January 2000, he was elected to Cabinet, and was later appointed by the Premier to serve as the Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation, Public Utilities Board and Youth. As of November 7th, 2001 he became Minister of Justice. In February 2002, the Premier appointed Roger Allen as Lead Minister to address the issue of homelessness. Mr. Allen was re-elected to the 15th Legislative Assembly on November 24, 2003.

Prior to his election to the 14th Assembly, Mr. Allen had considerable experience in municipal politics serving as the Mayor of Aklavik from 1991 to 1993 and a Councilor in 1990. He also served as a member of Inuvik's Town Council in 1988 and was the President of the Committee for Original Peoples' Entitlement.

Mr. Allen was the contract administrator and operator of the open custody group home in Inuvik prior to being elected as the MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Mr. Allen was a member of the Canadian Junior National Cross-Country Ski Team from 1968-70. He was also a member of the Canadian Senior National Cross-Country Ski Team from 1970-72.

He competed in the Junior World Nordic Championships in Bad Gosau, Austria in 1970 for Canada. He competed for Canada at the World Nordic Championships in Vysoke Tatry, Czechoslovakia in 1970.

In 1972 he was a member of the Canadian National Ski Team competing in the Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo, Japan.

After the Winter Olympics he was a member of the University of Colorado Buffalo's NCAA Ski Championship team from 1972-73.

Mr. Allen took the Legal Studies/Commercial Law course from the Athabasca University in 1996 and also attended the University of Colorado where he took the first year of the General Arts and Science program. Mr. Allen graduated from Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik in 1971. He was born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories on May 5, 1952.

Mr. Allen and his wife Vanessa have four children and one grandchild.

Roger Allen
Inuvik Twin Lakes

Statements in Debates

Written Question 2-15(2): Smoking And GNWT Employees
Debates of , (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My written question is addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Would the Minister undertake a study on how many GNWT employees are users of tobacco products and, secondly, can he provide to the best of his knowledge, any costs related to GNWT employees who are diagnosed with respiratory problems or other medical conditions caused by smoking? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 18-15(2): NWT Tax Exemption Options
Debates of , (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be tabling a couple of documents later this afternoon. I would make reference to the fact that we have the ability to introduce some tax exemptions that would help us facilitate social and economic growth in the Northwest Territories. Again, I would ask the Minister if he would elaborate for the benefit of the people of the Northwest Territories if he’s willing to adopt new tax initiatives that would be part of the strategy to improve operational efficiencies in economies throughout the North? Thank you.

Question 18-15(2): NWT Tax Exemption Options
Debates of , (day 2)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I took a vested interest in listening to the Finance Minister’s budget process update and feel that, with the number of problems he encounters in the revenue and expenditure section, I’ve made a few comments on how we should encourage the government to introduce tax exemptions to improve upon that kind of development for our residents of the Northwest Territories. So my question to the Minister is whether he is prepared to introduce new tax exemption mechanisms and, if so, how does he intend to implement this new initiative? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 5-15(2): Treatment Of Young Offenders
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of contentious issues under the new act, but it's important that the Minister conveys to the public on an official basis that they need to be aware of the process used to deter any youth criminal activity, as it is certainly becoming a territory-wide problem. Would he kindly address that? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement On Addressing Youth Crime In The North
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of the past several months, a great deal of criminal activity has occurred in the riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes, as well as other parts of Inuvik. This raises a community-wide concern. In the opinion of my constituents, this issue has surfaced too many times in a number of forums without any recourse or corrective action.

Mr. Speaker, the issue of youth crimes is not the only source of contention or the only problem from my community’s perspective. At issue is the Criminal Code as it is applied under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Mr. Speaker, the...

Question 5-15(2): Treatment Of Young Offenders
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again I refer to the point that this whole issue speaks mainly for provision of counsel. It doesn't speak to the provisions under the act of how they're going to eradicate youth crime in the communities, and that's a contentious issue across the Northwest Territories. So I'm asking the Minister again, is he willing and prepared to work more closely with the community-vested interest groups who deal with youth crime, and how he intends to deal with it through his portfolio? Thank you.

Question 5-15(2): Treatment Of Young Offenders
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I made reference to certain points in my Member's statement regarding the Youth Criminal Justice Act, I want to ask the Minister if he would advise this Assembly upon request to his department, that they would work more closely with RCMP under the policing agreement as well as in accordance with subsection 3.2.1 to provide greater clarity for the police officers who arrest or detain young offenders under the act, and if he could kindly explain how he plans to do that. Thank you.

Question 10-15(2): Pipeline Employment Opportunities
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is again to the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment with regard to his Minister’s statement. It’s in the context of if he can explain to this Assembly if he’s aware of a union of pipeline politics in the NWT and how it impacts the employing economy in the NWT. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member's Statement On Appreciation To Constituents Of Inuvik Twin Lakes
Debates of , (day 1)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m going to begin by trying to slow down after some of my constituents told me to, which means to speak slower so I can become more audible. Mr. Speaker, they also gave me a very strong philosophical statement by saying to take pride in being a good MLA, which I hope I will be able to do in this 15th Assembly.

Recognizing that statement, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of my campaign team. If there has ever been a book written about how to campaign and how to organize a campaign it can be done by a very valuable family member of mine, my...