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

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I guess what I'm getting at is did we not budget for any agency nurses in the 20232024 budget? And if so, was there an assumption that we would not need any? Leading to the question, how could we have been so far off in our assumption or prediction that we expected we would need none, and we ended up needing $5.5 million worth. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I appreciate that information the Minister was able to give, and I look forward to more indepth discussion at our committee meeting. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Final line of questioning here. Are these agreements public, or could they be made public so that we can all better understand, you know, what has been the amount of federal funding for each of these pockets over the years, what's being carried forward, what you know, what aspects are ending, what are the new agreements? Are any of the details around these agreements public or can they be public? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just to wrap up on that one, I just want to emphasize how important I think it is to plan ahead and ensure we have proper funding to do these projects when they need to be done and not wait until something is in an emergency state before we, you know, try to fix it and we're always behind the 8 ball and usually things cost more at that point and have become more dire. So I'm hopeful in the case of this project that we will get ahead of it and plan ahead and do what needs to be done to ensure the harbour is restored. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 11)

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So moving on to the agreements with the federal government, various agreements around health funding. Can the Minister clarify whether any of these agreements have resulted in carryover from previous years' funding being unspent?

Question 85-20(1): Non-Profit Daycares
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. So the other day in the House I spoke to the fact that in the past the government has had to step in when nonprofits collapse and they're providing essential social services. So if the largest nonprofit daycares in our regional centres are forced to shut down because they're no longer financially viable, is the government prepared to take over the operation of these daycares? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 85-20(1): Non-Profit Daycares
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. So given that fixed amount that the Minister referred to, will the Minister commit to including the NWT Early Childhood Association or child care providers in any future negotiations with the federal government about child care funding agreements? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Question 85-20(1): Non-Profit Daycares
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And thanks to the Minister for making that clear. So can the Minister recommend ways that child care providers can successfully attract and retain staff given that the government's proposed wage grid is well below salaries for comparable positions in early learning in NWT communities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement 97-20(1): Daycare
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we had a federal Minister here to celebrate the NWT achieving an average cost of $10aday child care. Unfortunately, this drive to lower fees has pushed this sector to the brink, especially in regional centres of the NWT such as Yellowknife and Inuvik.

The feds and the GNWT seem to have gone about this backwards based on a poor understanding of the struggles and challenges within the child care sector. By treating staff wages and organizational viability as an afterthought, it implies that the problem that we're trying to solve is that these...

Question 93-20(1): Daycare
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have further questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment regarding daycare.

So on February 9th, the Minister and the Department of ECE shared a very helpful package of information with Members on this side of the House that included detailed numbers broken down by NWT communities and regions about the number of child care providers, the number of spaces we have, and changes over the past decade or so. So will the Minister commit to sharing this information with the Early Childhood Association as they have been requesting? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.