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

Question 332-19(2): Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Seniors
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of health. I know that we have some great homecare and home support staff, and I'm sure they're providing as much information to the seniors and elders in my community that are on their homecare list, but not all seniors in my community are on that list. I want to know if the department can make sure that, if, or when, we have this second wave, some information packages can be put together so that we can have them in the public, even for constituency office, so we can deliver this information out to seniors to help them what they need...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, committee. Bill 10, Temporary Variation of Statutory Time Periods (COVID-19 Pandemic Measures) Act, is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 10, Temporary Variation of Statutory Time Periods (COVID-19 Pandemic Measures) Act?

Committee MOTION 25-19(2): Committee Report 3-19(2) – Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Long-Term Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT – Advancing Universal Child Care, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife Centre. To the motion.

Committee Motion 32-19(2): Committee Report 2-19(2) – Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on Long-Term Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT – Digital Communications Plan and Internet Access, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. To the motion. Member for Kam Lake.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you. Any further questions, Member for Yellowknife North? No. Member for Frame Lake.

Committee Motion 20-19(2): Committee Report 1-19(2) – Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Long-Term Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT – Broadband Internet Connectivity, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.

---Carried

Member for Nunakput.

Committee Motion 29-19(2): Committee Report 2-19(2) – Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on Long-Term Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT – Emergency Response Legislative Framework, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Member for Thebacha. The motion is in order. To the motion. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Member's Statement on Impacts of COVID-19 on Seniors
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will repeat it again: June is Senior Citizens' Month, and June 15th is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Today, I would like to talk a bit about how this pandemic has affected some of our seniors in my community that I have observed.

Since March, programs have been cancelled, like the Elder Day Program, and orders to social distance have been put in place. No visitors for our elders in our long-term care or the elders that are in our homes. This pandemic is also keeping seniors out of the loop of what's happening in our territory during this pandemic, so it increases...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

We will proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill. Can we proceed to a clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Committee Motion 24-19(2): Committee Report 3-19(2) – Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Long-Term Recovery: Recommendations to the GNWT – Policy Changes to Transitional Rent Supplement Program, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 31)

Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed? All those abstaining? The motion is carried.

--- Carried

Member for Kam Lake.