Shauna Morgan

Member Yellowknife North

Shauna Morgan was elected to the 20th Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly to represent the constituency of Yellowknife North.

Ms. Morgan was born and raised in Barrie, Ontario. Having called Yellowknife home for the past 15 years, she has embraced the dynamic, creative and eclectic lifestyle in Old Town near Great Slave Lake.

Ms. Morgan’s commitment to public service is evident in her two consecutive terms on Yellowknife City Council from 2015 to 2022. During this time, she held pivotal roles, including Deputy Mayor, Chair of the Community Energy Planning Committee, and Chair of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness.

Ms. Morgan holds degrees in International Development (B.A. Hons) and International Affairs (M.A.), specializing in community economic and political development in remote and Indigenous communities globally. She worked with a grassroots cross-cultural peacebuilding movement in the Philippines from 2002 to 2003. Her master's research delved into negotiations between mineral exploration companies and First Nations in Canada, focusing on land access during the earliest stages of mineral exploration.

Over the past 15 years in Yellowknife, Ms. Morgan has prioritized work at the community level. Working with private consulting firms and a non-profit thinktank focused on clean energy, she served as a resource person to Indigenous governments and communities across the NWT. Her contributions ranged from planning renewable energy projects to housing initiatives, building cross-cultural environmental research and monitoring programs, and navigating the complexities of major resource extraction projects.

Ms. Morgan has drawn on her well-rounded skill set to diversify her professional pursuits. While serving as a City Councillor, she managed her own piano teaching studio, worked as an on-the-Land educator with Bushkids NWT, and contributed for many years as a full-time member of the Snow Castle construction crew and snow carving team. Additionally, she engaged in facilitation and consulting contracts.

Active in the arts community, Ms. Morgan provides piano accompaniment for Yellowknife’s Aurora Chorealis (adult community choir) and Fireweed Children’s Choir. She served as a Board member for the Yellowknife Women’s Society and a weekly volunteer with Food Rescue and has dedicated time to the Yellowknife Ski Club and Victim Services.

Ms. Morgan’s love for the land is palpable in her adventurous spirit. She enjoys a myriad of outdoor activities in the North across all seasons, from whitewater and flatwater canoe trips to hiking in Auyuittuq National Park and along the Canol Trail. Her passion extends to cycle touring, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and hunting for moose and ducks with her partner.

Yellowknife North Electoral District

Committees

Accountability and Oversight
Social Development
Economic Development & Environment
Shauna Morgan
Yellowknife North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Phone
(867) 767-9143
Extension
12170
Constituency Office

Statements in Debates

Question 444-20(1): On-the-Land Healing Camp Initiative
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my next set of questions are actually for the Minister of Executive and Indigenous Affairs.

So last fall, the government responded to the challenge of encampments popping up around Yellowknife by establishing an on-the-land camp for those who didn't have access to a home in Yellowknife. But the camp required participants to be sober in order to be there. Can the Minister explain whether the camp did actually consistently reach its maximum capacity, and if not, whether that requirement for sobriety prevented the camp from including all those who really did...

Question 437-20(1): Trauma, Healing and Harm Reduction
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So what has the GNWT done to reach out to partners, such as Indigenous governments or non-profit shelter providers, to discuss whether or how managed alcohol programs could be newly established in other NWT communities or strengthened here in Yellowknife? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement 443-20(1): Trauma, Healing and Harm Reduction
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Mr. Speaker, one priority of this Assembly that we talk about surprisingly seldom is addressing the effects of trauma. And when we do talk about healing, we tend to frame it as black or white, all or nothing. We sometimes assume we can just take people with substance addictions from their rock bottom and then send them to treatment to become totally sober, all healed. And maybe that transformation does happen all at once for some people. But our shelters and our streets are overflowing with folks who are not totally sober. Maybe they've tried multiple times, maybe they're at some messy place...

Question 444-20(1): On-the-Land Healing Camp Initiative
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So has the government worked with partners to look at the feasibility of establishing an on-the-land camp for the under-housed population that would not require sobriety? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 437-20(1): Trauma, Healing and Harm Reduction
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Finally, has the GNWT examined the feasibility of ensuring there's a day shelter space where people could more safely use drugs or prescribed drug alternatives such as methadone or gabapentin? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 437-20(1): Trauma, Healing and Harm Reduction
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 39)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It feels like ages ago now, but my questions are for the h ealth and social services Minister in follow up to my Member's statement about harm reduction.

So, first, in 2022, the GNWT released a standards manual for managed alcohol programs in the territory. Can the Minister confirm whether these standards are actually in use anywhere in the territory now? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 433-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Employment Satisfaction Survey and Action Plan
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 38)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And so building on that, many staff reported in the survey that they feel they don't have appropriate access to data and information in order to do their jobs effectively. So what is this government doing to ensure that confidentiality and secrecy is not our default mode, our default operating mode, to maximize the extent that the work that our staff are doing is actually being shared and made public? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 433-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Employment Satisfaction Survey and Action Plan
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 38)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions now are for the Minister of Finance.

So the 2023 GNWT employee engagement and satisfaction survey identified a number of sources of major dissatisfaction in GNWT workplaces and, in particular, places where dissatisfaction's been growing. So I understand that in July of last year an action plan, an employee satisfaction action plan, was released to try to address the problems. So can the Finance Minister tell us what progress is being made since this action plan was established, first, on growing concerns that GNWT workplaces are not psychologically healthy...

Question 428-20(1): Out-of-Territory Care, Supportive Living and Respite Care
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 38)

So do we have a way of checking in after a year or two years with patients in Yellowknife to see if what the Minister described has actually happened, whether people are able to access the right practitioner at the right scope? So do we have a way of checking in with both patients as to whether it's working well and with the practitioners themselves to see if the theory of how this system is supposed to work is actually working for people at the end of the day? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 428-20(1): Out-of-Territory Care, Supportive Living and Respite Care
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 38)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. So one of this Assembly's priorities is improving access to primary care. Just so everyone's clear, primary care is the first place people go for health advice and care, whether that's a community health centre or a family doctor. So has this government defined anywhere what exactly improving access to primary care means to us and what we're trying to accomplish? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.