Lesa Semmler

Member Inuvik Twin Lakes

Minister of Health and Social Services
Minister Responsible for the Status of Women 

Lesa Semmler currently serves as the Member representing Inuvik Twin Lakes in the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, having been re-elected to the position. Born in Yellowknife, NT, and raised in Inuvik, where she still resides, Ms. Semmler has deep roots in the Northwest Territories. 

A Registered Nurse, Ms. Semmler graduated from the Aurora College Northern Nursing Program in 2000 and earned her Community Health Nurse Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association in 2008. With 15 years of frontline nursing experience at the Inuvik Regional Hospital, she focused on Acute Care, Homecare, and Public Health. Her career also included roles as the Manager of Acute Care Services and eventually the Regional Manager of Acute Care Services under the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. Notably, she served as the Inuvialuit Health System Navigator at the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, assisting Inuvialuit Beneficiaries in navigating the healthcare system. 

Beyond her healthcare career, Ms. Semmler has actively contributed to education and community service. She served on the Inuvik District Education Authority, assuming the role of Chair from 2015 to 2018, and chaired the Beaufort Delta Education Council. Ms. Semmler participated in various working groups at the territorial and national levels, including the Inuit Tuberculosis Elimination Board and the Inuit Midwifery Revitalization. Her commitment to social justice is evident in her voluntary work as a member of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls National Family Advisory Circle, where she worked to ensure northern voices were heard and represented. Lesa Semmler's life and career reflect her passion for healthcare, education, and advocating for the well-being of her community.

Inuvik Twin Lakes Electoral District

Lesa Semmler
Inuvik Twin Lakes
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Constituency Office

125 Mackenzie Rd
Unit 203
Inuvik NT X0E 0T0
Canada

P.O. Box
3130
Constituency Phone
867-678-2429
Minister's Office
Email
Email

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If we're paying for people to live outside of the NWT, then they must come from the NWT somewhere, so they must have families or they must originate from either the capital, the regional centres, or the small communities. That's the percentage that I would like to have of all the residents who are outside the territory.

Question 600-19(2): Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know that the health department has recently launched a survey for people who have engaged in addictions services, and I am hoping that we do get some good responses as to what I have been saying. People who have gone through the system are feeling that they have been dropped, kind of, at the end. Indigenous people, I have said it in this House before, have a hard time trusting health systems, have a hard time trusting the counselling system. It's not culturally appropriate to some. Some people, once they have sobered up, they don't want to go to the counsellor if it...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Out of this $35 million, then, we are spending $35 million on 114 residents. I know I stressed this the last time we brought up the mains, and now we are going out for an RFP to see how we can plan on possibly transitioning some of these residents home. My question for some of this is: what is the percentage of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous of these people who are outside of the NWT in these facilities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Question 600-19(2): Treatment Facilities
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

Thank you to the Minister. Will the Minister commit to having staff being proactive? If they are government staff and this is the department that falls under her, they are the ones sending them out, or if we're paying for them to go out for treatment, proactive in connecting with all residents exiting treatment facilities to ensure that they have some sort of process and follow-up and support coming from treatment.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

No. I am on page 189.

Member's Statement on Aftercare
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The time most individuals spend in a southern residential treatment facility represents a small period of time when you compare the many years a person has taken to get themselves to the recovery stage. Going to a treatment facility is the biggest and most important step for many in their journey to recovery from addiction, but it is only one step that is part of their healing journey. When we look at our communities, we lack the supports required to help them remain in recovery. This creates endless cycles of homelessness, family violence, and trips to southern...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 62)

No further questions. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)

Thank you, Deputy Minister. Member for Great Slave.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)

Thank you. Deputy Minister Young.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)

Thank you. We will go to sports, recreation, and youth beginning on page 355, with information items on page 359 until the end, which is page 363. Questions? Member for Kam Lake.