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
Extension
11120
Constituency Office

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

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. We are just looking for that information right now. We should have it it's under Executive Council offices I'm being told. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The K-9 unit was established in Hay River after the death, the murder, of Constable Chris Worden. And it was stationed there until 2018. That was the time when the RCMP undertook a review of the situation, and they determined that it was not as effective to have the police dog in Hay River. It's a territorial asset. And so if there was an incident in the Sahtu, let's say, they would have to fly to Hay River, get the dog, and then head up. There's a number of other situations as well. I can leave it at that I guess, because things new things have come to light. But...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. I'd like to through you, Mr. Chair, I would like to hand it to the director.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. Again, this is another federal program and so we had an agreement with the federal government to receive funding through the Guns and Gang Strategy. The federal government discontinued that strategy but we have recently confirmed that that money is being reprofiled to the same end, but in a different program and so we are awaiting details on that. But we hope to be getting into discussions and signing it as soon as possible. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. The UNDRIP Implementation Act that was passed in the last government, as the Member said, we are legislatively required to codevelop an action plan to achieve the goals of UNDRIP with Indigenous governments. And so we are in the process of doing that right now. And that will help guide future investments that will be reflected in future budgets. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. I will hand it over to the deputy minister. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I think we're skipping ahead a couple sections this time, but I will say that in terms of the negotiations when it comes to the budget, I think that we can do what we need to do within the budget. I've been meeting with the negotiators. I've been talking to the departments. I've been expressing my views on how we need to proceed. And I've been meeting with Indigenous governments. And the department will be bringing forward options to try and get by some of these roadblocks on some of these negotiations. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you. If you could just give me one moment while I turn to that page, thanks.

Thank you. So I don't have a lot of detail on that, but one of the issues that has been identified is who is included in that definition under the Act. And so that's one area that we're looking at. And the other, we're also looking at other amendments. But I can get back to the Members with more information on that specific legislative initiative. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I appreciate the Member's concerns about the lack of target. This document and the mandate were prepared almost simultaneously and so we were including items underneath each of the topics, and they aren't necessarily all fully fleshed out yet. But the idea behind this here is around integrating the services and ensuring that someone who needs access to services is able to get those services when they need them. Often, the root cause of a lot of crime is addictions issues, and so if we can support people in a way that will actually assist them, you know, get them out...