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

Shauna Morgan
Yellowknife North
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
12170
Constituency Office

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I do appreciate the Minister's commitment to review this. And we'll just leave it there for now. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm encouraged to hear that, and I think that we could -- that's a promising start and that we could still find a path forward. So I'll leave it there for today. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So when I was looking through the annual report, the last available annual report for the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations, it clarified that we don't have any active oil and gas operations in the territory. And to be clear, this regulator doesn't cover the ISR, the Inuvialuit settlement region. So aside from -- sorry, I should qualify that. Aside from the operation in Norman Wells winding down. And that in 2022-2023, 55 abandoned wells -- sorry, wells were safely abandoned. And that represents two-thirds of the suspended wells in our jurisdiction.

So I am...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think we were just in the middle of an explanation as to possible impacts to public services of the reductions to the line of community clinics in health centres for primary care.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I just want to be clear, you know, based on some of the answers the Minister gave yesterday to oral questions, you know, there's a lot of joking about how we have so many lawyers in this territory, surely we have plenty of them already. But this is a very specialized area of law and to be clear, you know, government lawyers, real estate lawyers, corporate lawyers, criminal lawyers, cannot take on this work. And most of the lawyers working within the GNWT are not actually qualified to work with children. And in fact, many may not want to practice in that area because it...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Can the Minister or deputy or ADM provide any explanation of are we losing services related to primary care because of the sunsetting of those federal funds, or what's the impact on frontline services there to the public? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So my understanding is that some of the important roles of that senior lawyer in the Office of the Children's Lawyer has been training and mentoring those other lawyers who are assigned to children's cases, which is a very specialized area, vetting those lawyers, monitoring them, responding to complaints about them, as well as undertaking research and advocacy around changes to legislation, such as the child and family services process, the CFS Act, as well as advocating about children's legal rights within HSS, to schools, families, even to judges and to other lawyers...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

That's fine. The exact details, I'd be happy to get in writing later. Does the Minister know, though, are there child and youth counsellor positions that have been reduced from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025? Have we lost positions between last year's budget and this year's budget?

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I'm looking at the line item for Office of the Children's Lawyer, which I spoke about yesterday in my Member's statement. So children and youth in the child welfare system are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. And decisions that are made for them are supposed to be based on their best interests, on their views and preferences when that can be determined.

So, first, if we just establish what exactly is being lost here. We see that the budget is being reduced by $200,000. Can you explain what is being reduced and what will remain in the program with...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 19)

Okay, thank you for clarifying that. And I'm sure we'll get lots more details soon about that specific program. It's certainly one that I support. It's been a long time coming, to be able to have that aftercare that people have been talking about is a huge gap, and people are -- especially, you know, returning from addictions treatment or programming and need somewhere safe to stay and get back on their feet. I also think there's much scope for more transitional housing/supportive living facilities beyond those needing aftercare, including those just needing stabilization and harm reduction...