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 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank the Minister for that commitment. I guess I should just give the Minister a head's up. I am actually going to do a Member's statement on it next week. I will give you some time on that one, but I will ask some questions on that.

In regard to the water inspectors, is this the area where I should be asking a question about that position? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With our Arctic Winter Games less than a month away, athletes and coaches are excited about getting there to represent Team NWT. Unfortunately, today we will not be talking about this.

Mr. Speaker, during the territorial trials four athletes from the Nahendeh region did not get the chance to compete for a spot, due to no fault of their own. On January 19, 2018, I ran into one of these athletes here in Yellowknife and was informed that he would not be in the Arctic Winter Games. When I asked him about the reason, he said he could not get there due to weather.

I have...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, and I appreciate the Minister and the department for being able to provide that. Does the department have a training plan that they look at training non-certified firefighters for each region? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know Sambaa K'e has a crew. They have a crew there. They actually are contracted out there. There is a crew there, but what I am looking for is some of the other communities. Would the department look at potentially putting some crews there so that, depending on the fitness level and all of that, the requirements, would they be willing to look at expanding, putting crews in these smaller communities? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess I should have been a little more specific. I mean, I represent six communities, so I am trying to see. I know Fort Simpson is there, but what about Fort Liard, Sambaa K'e, Jean Marie, Nahanni Butte, and Wrigley? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is just a little bit of a comment. I appreciate the Minister following through on that.

I actually have to give credit to the Minister and his department and their survey. I had a number of local Aboriginal people, or local hunters, I guess you would call them, who have been employed by the department, and they have said nothing but positive things. They appreciate the department actually utilizing traditional knowledge in the areas. I have to give credit where credit is due, and I would like to thank the Minister and his department for that. That will be it. Thank...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

I don't think Sport North got the money. I think the government gave Sport North the money to do these games, so that's why I'm asking the Minister to look at using this money that the government has given Sport North to reimburse these athletes who now have not had the opportunity to participate and try out for the NWT Games. Will the Minister get them to look at it and reimburse them again?

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate that answer. It does help when we are presenting things there. I guess the next question in regard to this is the hunting on the corridor. I found it very interesting, as I had the opportunity to travel with the Minister and his staff, some of the things that we actually don't do or allow people to do, like hunting with lights and stuff like that.

Has the Minister and the department looked at potentially addressing this issue in the upcoming year? It seems to be not really hunting, I guess, you would call it. There have been some concerns, and I think...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to follow up with the Minister. In her last answer, she said that these athletes actually did the transportation to go to Yellowknife, and if they had stayed in Fort Simpson, they would have been able to catch the charter. Can the Minister please elaborate and explain to us what she meant by that answer? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 17)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I thank the Minister for that. I know we are going through a study right now about moose and that. Has the department looked at potential further studies this fiscal year coming up on the moose, or is it just being implemented this year and that's it? Thank you, Mr. Chair.