R.J. Simpson

Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs

R.J. Simpson was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, representing the constituency of Hay River North. On December 7th, 2023, Mr. Simpson was elected Premier of the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Simpson was formerly acclaimed to the 19th Legislative Assembly and first elected into the 18th Assembly in 2015.

Mr. Simpson was Deputy Speaker of the 18th Assembly, Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, and the Chair of the Special Committee on Transition Matters. Mr. Simpson was also a member of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning and the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment.

Mr. Simpson is a lifelong resident of Hay River After graduating from Diamond Jenness Secondary School in 1998 Mr. Simpson went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts from MacEwan University and a law degree from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Law.

Mr. Simpson has previously worked with the Government of Canada, Northern Transportation Company Ltd, Métis Nation Local 51, and Maskwa Engineering.

While at law school, Mr. Simpson was the President of the Aboriginal Law Students’ Association. He has also served on the board of the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre in Hay River and volunteered with the Canada-Ghana Education Project.

Hay River North Electoral District

Committees

R.J. Simpson
Hay River North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
867-767-9141
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

62, promenade Woodland, bureau 104
Hay River Nord NT X0E 1G1
Canada

Phone
867-874-6301
Minister
Email
Email
Premier of the Northwest Territories, Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs, Minister of Justice, Government House Leader

Statements in Debates

Bill 15: Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2020
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 48)

Madam Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 15, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2020, be read for the third time, and, Madam Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 48)

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 73(2) to have Bill 18 moved directly into Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 48)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Primarily, most students are able to attend school full-time, and that is especially true for most students between junior kindergarten and grade nine. There are a few students in grade 10, 11, and some in grade 12 who do have to, at this point, attend school part-time, whether it's every second day, whether it's in the mornings and not the afternoons. Those are the students who are being targeted. There are also students who are over 19 who aren't allowed back in the schools by order of the Chief Public Health Officer, and so they have to participate remotely.

ECE...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 48)

Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 73(2) to have Bill 17 moved directly into Committee of the Whole for consideration. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 48)

I would like to introduce Mr. Michael Saturnino, the assistant deputy minister of Labour and Income Security, and Ms. Mikaela Robertson, legislative counsel with the Department of Justice.

Question 451-19(2): Family Violence Prevention and COVID-19
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 47)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Sexual assault is underreported in the territory, and I'm sure really around the world. Many survivors don't feel that the justice system will help them, or there could be other reasons why they don't want to come forward to the police. As such, there are some jurisdictions that have a third-party reporting system whereby the victim can go to that third party and they will let the police know anonymously what happened. That person can then access the support services until such time as they are ready to report this. The GNWT has been looking into this. There were some...

Committee Motion 54-19(2): Committee Report 5-19(2): Standing Committee on Government Operations Report on the Review of the 2018-2019 Annual Report of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories – Government Response to R
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 47)

Yes, I would.

Question 450-19(2): Illicit Drug Use
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 47)

The antidrug initiatives are across government. It's not just the Department of Justice, of course. There are things with the department of education, things that are taught in school. Health has proactive antidrug campaigns. In terms of the Department of Justice, we're part of the opioid task force along with the RCMP. We work closely to try to avoid, and we have been lucky so far, the type of opioid crisis that we have seen in the South. We are also partners in the GNWT's alcohol strategy. We have seen a lot of drug seizures over the last number of months. Every time you turn on the news, it...

Bill 16: An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 47)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to second this bill. There was a time in this Assembly when the idea of reducing taxes on small business couldn't even be discussed. Not this current Assembly, but the previous one I was in. We heard today that small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic, disproportionately perhaps. This is a way that we can help support them. Revenues are important. Revenues in the GNWT, of course, are important. However, I've had small businesses say to me that, "If I could have a bit of a tax break, I would be able to hire that apprentice." We...

Question 449-19(2): Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act Implementation
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 47)

As I stated, we expect spring 2021 for the act to be brought in. We will need the regulations by then. As the Member knows, the Department of Justice is creating a policy for the prepublication of regulations, and these are the exact types of regulations that I imagine would be shared and open for input. Thank you, Madam Speaker.