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

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 56)

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

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. There is a motion to report progress. The motion is in order. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

---Carried

I will rise and report progress.

Mr. Simpson's Reply
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 56)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at the commencement of the 18th Legislative Assembly just over three years ago, our economy was facing hard times, and we set ourselves on a path with the intent to strengthen it, so that future generations could benefit from the potential of this land.

Within the first months of the Assembly, however, we were struck a blow when Snap Lake Diamond Mine shut down. With that closure, an economic contribution to our economy as big as the entire tourism industry disappeared practically overnight.

The remaining diamond mines are all scheduled to end production one...

Question 564-18(3): Expanding Legal Aid Outreach
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that commitment by the Minister. Let's go one step further. Will the Minister commit to looking into the viability of the Legal Aid Outreach clinic in the South Slave and an additional Legal Aid Outreach clinic lawyer in the South Slave?

Question 564-18(3): Expanding Legal Aid Outreach
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

That is what I expected, especially given that, like I said earlier, the number of small-town lawyers across Canada are disappearing. You know, they are retiring. They are finding second careers in politics. I would like to know: would the Minister be open to actually looking into this and seeing if the need is justified and that perhaps we could take concrete steps toward adding an additional legal aid clinic?

Question 561-18(3): Expanding Legal Aid Outreach
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It sounds like there is not going to be anyone in the office to answer the phone when people call. Can we get a commitment from the Minister to look at hiring another lawyer to stay in the office while the other lawyer gets to travel around and engage with the community in person?

Question 561-18(3): Expanding Legal Aid Outreach
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

I know it is being utilized by a lot of people, because, when people call to get an appointment to speak with the lawyer, it is usually quite far in advance. Not everyone, however, needs to speak with a lawyer necessarily, and the department has announced plans to make public legal education materials more available on its website. It also needs to do more work with things like a Facebook page for the Legal Aid Outreach clinic. What is the status of these efforts to get this information out there to the public and make it more accessible online?

Member's Statement on Northwest Territories Legal System
Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for members of the public, dealing with government can be a very frustrating experience. The government is generally designed and operated with a focus on ease of administration rather than end-user experience.

However, Mr. Speaker, no segment of government can compete with the legal system in terms of its opaqueness, inaccessibility, and dizzying complexity, particularly in regards to civil- and family-law matters. While it is convenient to blame everything on Cabinet, I have to admit that the Kafkaesque nature of this system isn't their fault. The system...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Minister's Statement 131-18(3), Sessional Statement, and Tabled Document 322-18(3), Main Estimates, 2019-2020, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 55)

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