Lesa Semmler

Member Inuvik Twin Lakes

Minister of Health and Social Services

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

Committees

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
Email
Email
Minister of Health and Social Services

Statements in Debates

Question 78-19(2): Northwest Territories Power Corporation Board of Directors
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 8)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am going to just talk a little bit with my question. In 2005, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat released a review of governance framework for Crown corporations. That report said that, to be effective, boards of directors must approach their work objectively. It also talked about the independence that helps to establish a board's credibility and supports sound governance. It also talks about how best practice requires that boards of directors in Crown corporations function independently from management.

My question to the Minister responsible for the NWT Power...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 8)

Member for Hay River South.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 8)

Thank you, Member for Frame Lake. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 8)

Minister of ITI.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 8)

Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Madam Premier.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

There is a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and non-debatable. All those in favour? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will now rise and report progress.

Question 71-19(2): Oral Health Action Plan
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

One of the things that I would really like to know is: how does the Minister see the health centres providing oral healthcare as the nurses -- because it is. It's in here. Although they're not dentists, they are supposed to do the primary stuff, but on top of everything else that they do. I just want to know: how does she expect them to get everything that they have to do in their day on top of all of this? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 71-19(2): Oral Health Action Plan
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

I understand who provides care, and I understand that dental service is not an insured service, but, like I said in my Member's statement, it affects so many insured services. We do provide health promotion and, according to the action plan, a lot of that is health promotion, and our front-line nurses do provide a lot of that. In the action plan, there is "new oral health positions using a phased-in approach," in the first year, 2018-2019; second year, 2019-2020; and a third year, 2020-2021. Where are those positions? Have those positions been created, and where are they so far?

Member's Statement on Oral Health Care
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to discuss oral health care in the NWT, especially for communities outside the capital. In my community, we have a dental clinic that serves not only Inuvik, but the Beaufort-Delta. That is not enough. I would like to refer to an oral health action plan released by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, ITK, in 2013. I quote from the executive summary: "The 2008-2009 Inuit oral health survey highlighted the need for urgent and comprehensive measures to overcome the unacceptably high rate of oral disease that is two to three times that of the rest of Canada."

Mr. Speaker...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report progress and, Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.