Julian Morse

Member Frame Lake

Mr. Morse was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to represent the constituency of Frame Lake.

Mr. Morse grew up in Yellowknife and graduated from Sir John Franklin High School. He studied political science and economics in undergrad, has a diploma in environment and natural resources technology from Aurora College, and a master’s degree in conflict analysis & management from Royal Roads University.

Mr. Morse has a diverse professional background, including ten years’ experience working in the NWT’s regulatory system. He has worked as an environmental technician, policy analyst, executive director of an NGO, and constituency assistant at the Legislative Assembly. He has also worked a variety of trades and labour positions over the years, including a season working on the Snowking’s snow castle construction team. He is licensed to operate commercial watercraft, and worked as a zodiac driver and polar bear guard for an expedition cruise company in the summer.

His dedication to public service extended to a two-term tenure as a city councillor in Yellowknife, where he worked from 2015 to 2022. He served on the board of directors for the Yellowknife Housing Authority from 2021 to 2023.

In his spare time Julian enjoys various outdoor activities, and has extensively explored Great Slave Lake in his sailboat. He is an avid hunter, and has participated in expeditions for moose, caribou, and muskox across the varied landscapes of the Northwest Territories.

Prior to his political career, he contributed to the Boards of Folk on the Rocks and the Somba K'e Paddling Club.

Frame Lake Electoral District:

Committees

Julian Morse
Frame Lake
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
12110
Mobile
Constituency Assistant
Extension
12186

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that's it for questions on this page.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. The deputy minister answered a question I hadn't even asked yet, so it's amazing; they're reading minds over here.

What I -- I am curious -- I think that the temporary transitional housing project out by the airport has a 24-bed capacity. It seems like the need is out there. Does the Minister or her staff have any insights as to why we haven't been able to fill that facility yet?

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. And certainly very excited to see that and really appreciate Housing NWT's work there. As I am starting to run out of time, I did have one kind of just basic and fundamental question to ask the Minister.

Can Housing NWT confirm how many new units are anticipated to be added to the public housing stock by the end of the 20th Assembly? And just to be clear about the question, I am not asking how many units is Housing NWT building but how many units are being added to public housing's overall stock, knowing that some get removed when things get built so I am just curious...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Looking forward to reviewing it and getting that through the Assembly, especially considering my statement today about moving legislation quickly.

The next question I have is on page 16 of the business plan. I just note that the department has a goal of getting 25 Housing NWT units demolished and moved out of communities to make land available for housing development. They have a goal of getting 25 units done by October 2027. We're only at four units in 2026, and they have seven units currently approved for demolition. So we're not quite halfway there. I am just...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to ask some questions about the business plan. I figured this would be as good of a spot as any so I will try to refer to pages to keep the Minister and staff on track. The first one is on page 10 of the business plan.

It talks about updated legislation, updating the Housing NWT Act. And it says in the business plan the legislative review is underway and there's a proposal planned for 2026-2027, quarter 1. So I think -- I always have a hard time with the way fiscal years work and everything. But I think we're in quarter 1 now. So is that on track; do we expect...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Assembly or MLAs have any opportunity to contribute to those terms of reference or at least see them before they're set in stone and put out for RFP? Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the commitment to bring it to the attention, and that's news to me. It's a bit different than what was communicated in the business plan, so I appreciate getting that news, and we'll be inquiring further about that as well.

Mr. Speaker, the standing committee also recommended that the co-drafting process needs additional resources to proceed efficiently. Will those recommendations be responded to by the government as part of the intergovernmental agreement review? Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to continue the pile-on of the Premier today. I promise we did not plan this in our House planning.

Mr. Speaker, it's noted in the 2026-2027 business plan update that EIA will be coordinating the seven-year review of the NWT intergovernmental agreement on lands and resources management. Can the Premier speak to how process timelines will be addressed during this review? Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our government is severely challenged with timelines related to developing legislation, reviewing it, and bringing it into force. Over the first two years of this Assembly it has become apparent to me that this is a significant systemic problem we need to turn our attention to. I will cite some recent examples to illustrate the point.

The process of development and approval of the Forest Act spanned two assemblies, with the 18th Assembly citing the tremendous strain caused by a pile-up of legislation at the end of their term, and passing the Act onto the...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 87)

Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. And, yeah, I did want to mention that I am very excited about the Rock Hill announcement and look forward to, yeah, finding a permanent home for this program. With that, I know that there are -- I don't want to identify them specifically. But I understand there is at least one other THARP program house in our community of Yellowknife. I am just curious -- I can't remember if it's one or two other locations. But are those locations kind of up and fully functioning and populated now, or are they still awaiting residents?