Jay Macdonald

Député de Thebacha

Ministre de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique
Ministre de la Justice
Leader du gouvernement à l’Assemblée

Jay Macdonald a été élu député de la circonscription de Thebacha à la 20e Assemblée législative des Territoires du Nord-Ouest. M. Macdonald a été élu au Conseil exécutif de la 20e Assemblée.

M. Macdonald est né le 26 juin 1964 à Hay River, aux Territoires du Nord-Ouest. En tant que Métis, il a des racines profondes dans le Nord canadien, et son parcours a été marqué par diverses expériences qui ont enrichi sa vie personnelle et professionnelle.

La famille de M. Macdonald s’est installée à Fort Smith en 1970. Il a exploité avec succès son petit atelier de réparation de moteurs, fournissant des services essentiels à la collectivité et s’imposant comme un entrepreneur fiable. Simultanément, il s’est plongé dans les subtilités de la gestion des installations de loisirs, en supervisant les activités de l’aréna et du terrain de golf de la ville.

Pendant les 13 années où il a occupé le poste de directeur des services de gestion forestière à la Division de l’environnement et de la conservation du gouvernement des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, M. Macdonald a fait preuve d’un engagement inébranlable en faveur de l’environnement. Le rôle qu’il a joué pendant 12 ans en tant que coordonnateur du programme de parent d’accueil pour le Programme de leadership de l’Arctique de l’Ouest témoigne de son engagement envers la jeunesse. Pendant cinq ans, il a été parent d’accueil afin d’offrir un environnement stimulant aux élèves de Lutsel Ke qui fréquentent l’école secondaire PWK. Cette expérience a permis de mettre en évidence sa compassion, et a contribué de manière significative à l’épanouissement scolaire et personnel des élèves dont il s’occupait. S’appuyant sur son expertise de compagnon-technicien de petits équipements. 

M. Macdonald a passé 13 ans à la tête d’une concession Polaris et a servi d’instructeur pour l’entretien des petits équipements, la gestion du carburant d’aviation et les disciplines logistiques dans le cadre du Système de commandement d’intervention. Son engagement envers la collectivité va au-delà de ses fonctions professionnelles. En tant que bénévole dévoué, il a été président et entraîneur de l’équipe de hockey mineur de Fort Smith, et s’est efforcé d’encourager les jeunes et de leur inculquer les valeurs du travail d’équipe et de l’esprit sportif. Il a exercé ses talents d’entraîneur sur la scène nationale en dirigeant l’équipe des TNO lors des championnats nationaux de hockey autochtone.

En tant que représentant de la Nation des Métis de Fort Smith au sein du conseil d’administration de l’association scolaire de district locale, M. Macdonald a contribué à l’élaboration de politiques pédagogiques qui reflètent les besoins particuliers de la collectivité. En outre, il a été membre du conseil d’administration et président de la Commission de l’apprentissage et de la qualification professionnelle des métiers et professions des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, rôle lui ayant permis de militer en faveur de la reconnaissance et de la promotion des métiers spécialisés. L’engagement de M. Macdonald en faveur du bien-être de la collectivité est également confirmé par sa participation à diverses activités et événements locaux. Qu’il s’agisse d’être entraîneur au niveau amateur ou d’une autre forme de bénévolat, il a toujours œuvré à la création d’un tissu communautaire dynamique et cohésif.

En dehors de ses engagements professionnels et communautaires, M. Macdonald a une vie de famille bien remplie. Marié à Karen, il est fier papa de trois enfants et grand-père attentionné de trois petits-enfants. Pendant ses temps libres, il s’adonne à des passe-temps qui reflètent son amour du plein air et des vastes paysages nordiques comme le golf, la pêche et le jardinage.

Committees

Jay Macdonald
Thebacha
Bureau

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

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1320
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(867) 767-9143
Ministre de l'Environnement et du Changement climatique
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Déclarations dans les débats

Question 806-20(1): Wildfire Management Strategy
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 65)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the forest fire management policy is based on priorities with the number one priority being human life. And certainly as fires are detected on the landscape -- and I'll use 2025 as an example, we had about 201 fires. Of those 201 fires, 100 received some form of direct action. And of those, 80 of those incidents were close enough to communities to pose some level of threat, with 20 of those fires being close enough to pose a higher level of threat. So certainly the first priority, based on the policy and the information that is provided to our decision...

Question 803-20(1): Wildlife Management Strategy
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 65)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, happy to stand here and say that we've already started implementing that, and that has been certainly part of the work that we have done over the last number of years as the threat and the impact of climate change, you know, is affecting us as a territory. I think one thing that's really clear here is that we are a vast territory in land mass but we are small in population, and the remoteness of our communities certainly is one of the very challenging barriers that we face when it comes to, you know, being responsive to wildland fire. We have small...

Question 798-20(1): Wildfire Response Assessments
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 65)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, environment and climate change does daily assessments of all fires and specifically ones that are a threat to values or communities. Those daily assessments, that information is gathered. There are multiple joint agency meetings that take place daily where that information is relayed to all invested parties. MACA would work closely with the community in deciding when the actual evacuation event would take place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 797-20(1): Impacts of Wildfire on Tlicho Communities
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 65)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for the question. Not data that I have off the top of my head, but I'm happy to collect that and return a response to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 65)

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my right, I have Mr. Brad Patzer, assistant deputy minister, attorney general.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to also thank the pages for the tremendous work they've done this week, and I'd like to recognize the pages from PWK High School in Fort Smith, Elli MacDonald-Jaque, Kyla MacDonald-Schwartzenberger, Paisley Jones, and their chaperon Jana Jaque.

I'd also like to recognize Agatha, or Aggie as she's known. My MSA will be leaving this week, it's her last week, on to a new adventure, and I just wanted to thank her for all the tremendous work that she's done for me and everyone in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement 697-20(1): Celebration of Life for Ron Holtorf
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise in this House today to pay tribute to a friend, a respected educator, and a cherished member of our community, Ron Holtorf.

Ron passed away peacefully on March 15th, 2025, at St. Joseph's Auxiliary Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta. Ron was a devoted husband to Danetta, a loving father to Roger, Jolynn, and Richard, and a proud grandfather to Caitlin and Eric. He also leaves behind his sister Elizabeth and many dear friends. He was preceded by his parents, Jack and Helen, and his beloved grandson Christian.

Mr. Speaker, Ron...

Bill 27: An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member from Yellowknife South, that Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, be read for the second time.

Bill 27, An Act to Amend the Protection Against Family Violence Act, amends the act to improve access to emergency protection orders and to address physical and online harassment. This bill widens the definition of family members who may apply for protection under the act, adds stalking to the list of actions that constitute family violence, and will establish a new civil recourse related to stalking for victims of...

Question 735-20(1): Fees for Indigenous and Traditional Use Cabins
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the Member pointed out, we have committed to, you know, trying to reduce the rent to a nominal fee or a dollar in the short-term, as well as, you know, ensure that we're addressing this in the long-term. Right now, currently, the way the legislation is written, we can't technically charge rent less than $150. So that's our -- really our short-term goal here is to address that. And as we work with our partners, giving a specific timeline to this process is difficult. There are many participants here. If I could, I'd be happy to do that tomorrow. But, you...

Question 735-20(1): Fees for Indigenous and Traditional Use Cabins
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 61)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question. I think that, you know, as we talk about traditional use cabins, traditional activities, traditional use of the land across the NWT, it's important first and foremost to identify that as the Minister and I stand here, it's not my place to identify how an Indigenous government or an Indigenous organization's defined what a traditional use cabin or what their traditions entail amongst the Indigenous governments and the Indigenous organizations. There are many differences in tradition in how they define lifestyle and what their...