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 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The position has not yet been filled so we are still looking into this and considering all of our options as we develop the mandate for the 20th Assembly and we look at the budget for the upcoming sitting. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was, I think, a few years ago was the last time there was a real indepth discussion among the group about this item. So I can bring it to the group and say that this has been raised by an MLA and see what their thoughts are on having the discussion but I can't -- again, I can't make any promises. We don't set the agenda. We don't make decisions. But whenever I hear concerns from MLAs, I do bring them forward. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I definitely think it's possible. We are not the only party to these negotiations though so there is a lot that's out of our hands. I mean, the federal government is -- you know, they have an evolving approach to negotiations as well so they might introduce a new way of doing business that could add more time to the process. So there's a lot of unknowns, but I am confident that we're headed in the right direction and we're moving at a good pace. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can't make any commitments -- I don't want to make any commitments on behalf of the Minister of health. But I think that's a good suggestion. It is a very labour intensive program to offer. As Members know, it's not easy. It's not easy on the facilitators either. And so we also have to take into consideration that the people who are delivering this training, you know, there's an impact on them as well. So there's a number of things that we need to consider. I agree that it's something that I wish we could offer it across government, and there have been constant...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm happy to look into that as well. I appreciate that when we are developing programs and policies, we need to have a certain mindset. I've seen -- you know, my time as an MLA, I've seen policies and programs that you could tell were missing a certain lens at the very beginning, whether it was an economic lens, an environmental lens, or a cultural safety lens. So I'm happy to go back and see exactly what the process is, what is considered, and how we may be able to improve that process. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're looking at all of our options. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We're in the same place we were when the Member asked a couple weeks ago. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 12)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I do not have the authority to make that commitment. The GNWT is also signatory to the devolution agreement as are a number of Indigenous governments, and so it's that group of governments who would make that decision, not myself as Premier. And as I understand, the last direction was that the signatories receive those funds. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have some reports, I have a briefing note, so we can put together the information from what we have and share it with the Member. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the Member referenced the Yukon and, of course, the Yukon got rid of the time change a couple years ago. They intended to piggyback off British Columbia who announced that they were going to do the same. It turns out that they didn't go through with it but the Yukon had already committed themselves and so they had to go through it, and it showed the difficulties of a small jurisdiction in making that a reality. And so some of the things that I heard and they actually released a report that's quite interesting, you know, you had staff from the Yukon government on...