R.J. Simpson

Member Hay River North

Premier
Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs
Minister of Housing

 

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

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's Office
Email
Email

Statements in Debates

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. Yes, we are meeting the goal we set out three years ago now. We will be expanding in the coming year to 20 communities. Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. To answer the Member for Kam Lake's question, there were 112 graduations at the college. There are also completions, which aren't graduations. I will get those numbers for the Member by tomorrow. Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you, Madam Chair. To my left is Ms. Rita Mueller, the deputy minister of the department; on my right is Mr. Sam Shannon, assistant deputy minister of Corporate Services; on my far right is Mr. John MacDonald, the assistant deputy minister of Education and Culture; and, not sitting with us right now but waiting in the witness room for his time to shine, is Mike Saturnino, the assistant deputy minister of Income Security and Advanced Education, who I will, with your permission, call upon at the appropriate time. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. The funding is provided by the federal government, pursuant to an agreement that is ending this month, actually, I guess, March 31, 2020. Initial discussions from what we can tell, it looks like there will likely be a one-year extension of the status quo. After that, or during that time, we will enter into negotiations. We will be looking for more money, obviously. We always do. We still have to figure out what the feds want to do. With the reorganization of federal departments, we're not quite sure what their direction is going to be. What they might like to do is fund directly to...

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. It's on a referral basis, so it's not scheduled visits. It's based on the needs of the community. For some detail, I can go to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. The way that SFA determines whether or not a school is eligible is based on a master list. You can access it. It's a federal list of accredited universities. It's accessible through the SFA website. If you go on there, you can search for a school and, if it's on that list, then, if it is a program leading to a licence, certificate, diploma, bachelors, masters, et cetera, then it's an eligible school. Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. There are always plans to do more. It often comes down to money. The government has been supportive of that centre. The Member mentioned the old Hay River hotel. That was donated by the GNWT. I believe there is a marine vessel that is making its way over to that museum at some point in the near future, as well. That came from the GNWT. We are contributing where we can, but I agree with the Member that it would be nice if we could do more to support those organizations. Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Thank you. That is quite specific. Perhaps I should pass it over to the assistant deputy minister for corporate services.

Committee Motion 3-19(2): Tabled Document 30-19(2): Main Estimates 2020-2021 – Justice – Deferral of Further Consideration of the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Carried
Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

Yes, I do, Madam Chair, thank you. I am here to present the 2020-2021 Main Estimates for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $8.858 million, or 2.7 percent, over the 2019-2020 Main Estimates. These estimates support our fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending while matching the modest expected revenue growth over the coming year.

The increase is primarily related to forced growth funding. The proposed estimates reflect:

$5.866 million for collective bargaining increases in the department...