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

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, committee. Bill 26 is now ready for third reading. Does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Bill 26?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, committee. We will consider the bill after a brief recess. Let's take about five or 10 minutes. Thanks.

SHORT RECESS

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, committee. We will now return to the bill number and title. Bill 26, Statistics Act. Does committee agree?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

I will now call Committee of the Whole to order. What is the wish of committee? Mr. Beaulieu.

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

All those abstaining, please rise. The results of the recorded vote are 11 against, six in favour. The motion is defeated. Zero abstaining, for the record.

---Defeated

I will now recall the clause. Clause 10.1, does committee agree?

Question 721-18(3): Recruitment of Physicians in Hay River
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

I think that the Minister was speaking about what is called the Nuka model, or something based on that. He mentioned that there is a pilot project going on in a few different regions. When can Hay River expect to become part of this pilot project or expect to have the end result of the pilot project fully implemented?

Recorded Vote
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

The Member has asked for a recorded vote. I will put the question to committee. All those in favour, please rise.

Question 721-18(3): Recruitment of Physicians in Hay River
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a moment ago I spoke about the need for more permanent physicians at the Hay River Health Authority, and I talked about some of the issues, some of the barriers that we are facing, in terms of being able to recruit physicians. There are just a few. I often get complaints about the work environment as well, but I didn't want to delve into that too much.

I have a series of questions for the Minister of Health. My first is: what steps is the Hay River Health Authority, along with the Department of Health, doing to recruit more physicians in Hay River? Is there a...

Committee Motion 118-18(3), Defeated
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Minister. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.

Member's Statement on Doctor Shortage in Hay River
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this month Hay River was in the midst of a serious physician shortage. We had one physician in the community, one physician to service not just Hay River but all of the South Slave communities served by the regional health centre, one doctor to manage the workload usually allotted to five full-time positions. The number of scheduled appointments was limited, and walk-in appointments, which are hard to get on a good day, were either limited or sometimes cancelled entirely, so, as you can imagine, the emergency room turned into the walk-in clinic.

Mr. Speaker, this...