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

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 157)

Thank you. Minister.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 157)

Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 20232024, Department of Justice, operations expenditures, total department, not previously authorized, $4,549,000. Does committee agree?

Bill 79: An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 79. Does committee agree that there are no general comments?

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you. SergeantAtArms, please escort the witnesses into the Chamber.

Minister, please introduce your witnesses.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

I now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we've agreed to consider Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act. I will ask the Minister of Justice to introduce the bill.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you. Does committee agree?

Bill 79: An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you. There's a motion on the floor to report progress. The motion is in order and nondebatable. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion is carried.

Carried.

Question 1531-19(2): Homelessness in Inuvik
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Inuvik is the community with the second highest homeless population in the NWT, or is it? We don't know, because we don't have anyone or any documents that state this. We don't have a designated person that is to do this work. So, you know, to find out what the accurate numbers are. So I'm asking the Minister to have somebody in Inuvik, whether it's this person that she's looking at, that can do this work in the Beaufort Delta because if we don't know who and how many residents we are serving, how can we solve the issues that they're ending up homeless and...

Bill 79: An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, committee. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act?

Question 1531-19(2): Homelessness in Inuvik
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 156)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over this last little while I've been doing some more work on these homeless shelters, and what I found is there are positions that have been created in Inuvik and one of the things is and I'll repeat this, and we've all said it in the House. Inuvik, for one, is not Yellowknife. So you can't pick up what has been done in Yellowknife and drop it in Inuvik and expect it to work and all the same job descriptions and, you know, and expect that expertise to be in that community.

So can the Minister tell me when her department will ensure that there's a dedicated...