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 , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you, and I thank the Member for that question.

So the first part is in regards to the standardized list. Last year, we developed a standardized list. We provided that to the people that were impacted. Then we put a value to it. This year, we have that standardized list but because of inflation, we want to make sure that it's more current information. We should have that information available early next week and pathfinders into the insurance companies, the MLAs, and to the assessors as well. So we'll have that information available.

In regards to contractors, should an individual wish to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, advance payments can be issued based on the detailed damage assessments. So in other words, we ask the impacted residents to reach out to our pathfinders, register, then we get our assessors in there, and then we're able to do that. Then we work with the community members to make sure that they understand what we're doing, then if they need to go do an advance it takes seven to ten days to get it done. So we work with them on that there. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have all heard about the war in Ukraine and witnessed its impact on the news. In this House, we saw numerous Members donate to the Canadian Red Cross and the GNWT made a commitment to match the donations by NWT residents up to a maximum of $50,000.00.

Well, closer to home, our pharmacist and his wife were impacted deeply. Ukraine was their home country. In 2011, he immigrated to Canadian to start a new life. As the war broke out, they watched in horror. They had family and close friends living there So he started with a petition asking the federal...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to that question there, the process is that the assessments will come in; they will do the assessment of the damage. Then the pathfinders will reach out to the impacted homeowner or businessowner and explain what the assessment is. Then we'll also have that conversation about do they need an advance, do they need this here.

Then through the process, it's basically seven to ten days once we process the advance.

So, again, it's about asking people to be a little bit patient right now as we go through the process. Once we have the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, our pathfinders are supposed to be there until we finish dealing with this crisis that's happening in Hay River and the reserve. So we are looking at trying to find some local pathfinders, because right now we have pathfinders that are outside the community. They are working there. So we're working to try to find local pathfinders to help that there.

I also have to say thank you to the MLA from Hay River North and Hay River South and to the Deh Cho MLA. They are willing to help out, and they had the conversations. We've given them the information. So I also...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Again, thank you to the Member for the question. We are fairly early into the process. So again, we need to identify the level of damages for all the homes. Damage assessments are currently underway, and this information will be utilized to make decisions by the homeowners related to the next steps in the process.

I can tell the Member that our pathfinder was in the community of K’atl’odeeche on Wednesday, and they were going door to door with the staff there. So we are working on that. Once that is done, we will make sure they're registered. Then the assessors will be in there.

We have seven...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, MACA does connect with the flood risk communities throughout the risk season. We have those communications, and we have, you know, partnership working with them to address these things. We also have the NWT alert system in place.

In regards to wearing my other hat as ENR minister, we also published an NWT water monitoring bulletin on a regular basis throughout the flood season. We also make sure that the information's available to the leadership in the communities.

This approach, though, is again we have to all please understand, it's a team approach. And...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour of saying ‘thank you’ to a resident who is retiring. Mike Canney started working at the Fort Simpson warehouse on April 4th, 1986, with the federal government as a casual. The following year, he started work with the Department of Renewable Resources as a seasonal store person. In 1991, he was asked to fill in as the regional store person and eventually he was hired full time in that position. The position has been renamed as a material management officer.

He has always spoke highly of his employment with the department and how his...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year my constituents were going through this as well as Little Buffalo and Fort Good Hope. So I just need to make sure people are aware there are multiple steps. Many of them are occurring at the same time. You know, the GNWT needs to see the results of the detailed damage assessments to better understand the nature and extent of the flood damage. Some houses are impacted more than others and same with businesses. Many people have already started their cleanup and repair work, and they've been in touch with their insurance providers.

And again, we...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

And I thank the Member for that. So the Member is correct as soon as it was safe we had our pathfinders in. We are working with impacted residents and that. So we are encouraging people to register, whether it's online or into the Hay River evacuation centre. As I said, we've had people going door to door on the reserve. So we do have pathfinders in there working on that. So once we get that, then we will have our assessors go in and check out the damages. And so again, it's working on the process. And again, the numbers, I'm not a hundred percent sure. Last number I heard was a hundred...