Shane Thompson

Member Nahendeh

Speaker

Shane Thompson was re-elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly after serving in the 18th and 19th Assemblies representing the constituency of Nahendeh. Mr. Thompson is the Honorable Speaker of the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly.

Mr. Thompson was first elected to the 18th Assembly in November 2015 and served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Social Development. Mr. Thompson was also a member of the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning, the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures, and the Striking Committee.

Mr. Thompson was born on July 11, 1963, in Hay River. He has lived in Kugluktuk (Coppermine), Inuvik, Hay River, and in Edmonton, while at the University of Alberta. Fort Simpson has been his home since 1992.

Mr. Thompson previously served two terms (three years each) as an elected official with the Fort Simpson District Education Authority, spending the last four years as the chairperson. Over the past 35 years, he has served on various community and territorial boards.

Mr. Thompson was employed as the Senior Sport and Recreation Coordinator with Municipal and Community Affairs (GNWT) in the Deh Cho region before being elected as a Member.

Mr. Thompson completed the Community Recreation Leaders Program at Arctic College in 1989 and is currently working on a Masters Certificate on Evaluation at the University of Victoria and Carleton University. He also completed three years towards an Education degree at the University of Alberta.

Mr. Thompson is an active volunteer with Northern Youth Aboard, CBET and Fundamental Movement, and HIGH FIVE®. As well, he is a past member of the Sport North Federation Board, NWT Softball and of NWTRPA, and the past president of Seven Spruce Golf Course.

Mr. Thompson is the father of seven children - five daughters and two sons – and has nine grandchildren.

He has been a Justice of the Peace since 1991.

Nahendeh Electoral District

Committees

Shane Thompson
Nahendeh
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
12005
Constituency Office

9706-100th Street
Fort Simpson NT X0E 0N0
Canada

Phone

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the Minister and department looking at that. I understand the process, and I totally agree with you, and it could not happen sooner. I honestly believe, if we could get it going into the next year's budget, it would have a huge impact. Like I said, in my riding I know in one classroom that there were three or four who have been diagnosed, and it's kind of a different range within autism, and then FASD is huge across the territories. So I would just encourage the department to look at implementing it next year, and I can guarantee I will be supporting...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this past fall I ran into a very unique situation. A youth was sent out to a treatment facility where there was an incident. After a number of phone calls between me and the family, we brought the situation up to the Minister and the department for their help. To the department's credit, there was quick action taken and they were on top of it. Unfortunately, the process that is usually used to share what happened did not work this time. There seems to be a huge void when it comes to youth in care. It seems that nobody could sign the consent form, leaving a...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank Mr. Cooper for that answer. With this plan being in place, will this plan be shared with the standing Committee on Social Development? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, and I thank the Minister for that answer. I guess my big concern is that I know, in talking with teachers and parents, we are seeing a higher increase of autism in my riding. Actually, my sister who lived down south is actually highly involved in autism and works with an autistic child, and so my concern is: how can we actually do justice to this if we only have a position in Yellowknife that is looking at the southern part and a position in Inuvik looking after the northern part? Because this is going to be a huge demand, and how can the department guarantee that we are going to...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

NTHSSA financial statement of March 31, 2017. It says $67.12. I guess I'm trying to get a clear understanding of this because it does have an impact if our numbers are going up to $92. If it's gone from $67 to $92 million, then we're missing this number. I'm just trying to get a clear picture of the amalgamation. We are supposed to be actually saving money in this area, and I understand we're just in the process, but it seems to be our debt is starting to go higher in this area. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. In regard to autism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, where would we find that increase in the budget? I know it is in this area, but where is it? Which line item is it? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that. I guess I'm trying to understand this debt because I keep on hearing numbers, $67 million. Now I'm hearing $67.6 million deficit. Is this $67.6 million debt the most current accurate picture of where our situation is in regard to this authority? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I guess this is just going to go around and around in circles here, but, again, my constituents are not getting a fair treatment. We are seeing this, and it is consistent, so maybe the airlines are out on mechanical and they are having that problem. So, if this service continues, will the department look at alternate solutions to provide these services, i.e. local airlines or another airline company? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So will we see an increase next year for the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority, once it's all in one package? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 19)

I thank the Minister for the answer. I heard that yesterday. It is about patients. It is about their care. That is my concern, is that I understand we rebook, we reschedule, but the thing is that I have people who go out for appointments who miss. It could be a week, a month, it could be two months, three months down the road, and this is a huge concern for these people. They brought this concern to me, and I appreciate the Minister is going to look at it for the Nahendeh, but can the Minister tell us if he has contacted the Department of Infrastructure, who is responsible for providing this...