Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Thank you, colleagues. I often think what the NWT could look like in 50 years. We are in such a unique position. There is nowhere else like the NWT. And when I think about the future of this territory, it looks like nothing else I've ever seen.
I see an NWT that is thriving, natural ecosystems that are thriving, cultures and languages that are thriving, economies that are thriving, self-governments that are thriving, and a system of cooperative governance that is unique in the world. This can be a reality. The 19 of us in this room have the rare honour to help propel this territory in that direction.
I am running for Premier because I want to help make this vision a reality. I say help because no one person can do it alone, not the Premier or the Cabinet or all 19 Members of the Legislative Assembly or the thousands of GNWT employees. We can only achieve this vision if we all work together.
Inscribed on the mace of the Northwest Territories is the phrase One Land, Many Voices. When I was first elected, I used to think that having one land with many voices was a challenge; however, after travelling through the North and working with representatives from every corner of this territory for the past eight years, I see that it has the potential to be our greatest strength. To harness this strength, we must build upon the work that began in the last government by *.
Continuing the work of the Council of Leaders by working with Indigenous governments to co-develop an action plan to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples; and,
By continuing to advance land claim and self-government negotiations which have been spurred on by recent changes to the GNWT's negotiating mandate; and,
Begin finalizing agreements within the next four years.
To achieve the 50-year vision I described, we must wholeheartedly commit ourselves to these actions. 50 years in the future is a long ways away, and there is much work to be done to achieve this vision. There is also much work to be done to address the issues we're facing today.
We all know that we face many challenges here in the North. We lack adequate social housing which negatively impacts our people's health and wellness. We lack market housing which hinders businesses' ability to grow and prevents governments from filling positions needed to deliver services. Trauma is prevalent across the North resulting in ongoing issues with addictions, and we are seeing new and more harmful drugs entering our communities. There is a lack of health care professionals and increasing competition across Canada for those positions. We have a high cost of living, especially in our communities that are not connected by all-season roads. Natural disasters are impacting communities across the territory, and the risk will only increase. Just hearing this list of challenges is enough to make someone throw their hands up in despair. How can we possibly address all of these issues? Well, that's exactly what we signed up to do.
While we won't solve each and every one of our problems in the next four years, I'm confident that this Assembly can start us down the right path and that we can make significant headway in addressing them. It won't be easy, and we all know that. Throwing more money at government is not the solution. Every year we've been spending more and more and the Government of the Northwest Territories is bigger than it's ever been, but we're not seeing the results we want. There isn't enough money to keep increasing our budget at this pace, and there aren't enough workers to fill all the positions we currently need filled. Likewise, we cannot rely on the Government of Canada to increase our funding. We can continue to lobby them but we must ensure our fiscal house is in order if we expect them to consider our requests. However, by working with Indigenous governments and by finalizing land claims and self-government agreements, more money will flow into the NWT, our residents will be better supported, industry investments will increase, and the quality of life of our residents will rise.
To be frank, I believe the GNWT is stretched too thin. We're trying to do too many things and, as a result, we're only doing them halfway. We need to go back to the basics. If we want to tackle the major issues, we need to focus our efforts and devote adequate staff and resources to those ends. While the Premier must understand the issues in the territory, it is not their role to determine which issues to tackle. The priorities of this government will be decided by the 19 Members of the Legislative Assembly. The Premier's role is to bring the territory together, lead the GNWT, and use the machinery of government to pursue those priorities and to oversee the regular day-to-day delivery of services.
So what makes me think I can do this?
Although I am well acquainted with many of you, some of us have only gotten to know each other over the past week and a half. I'm a lifelong resident of Hay River. My father Rocky Simpson was also born and raised in Hay River and has worked up and down the Valley. Even today, in many communities I am better known as Rocky's son than Minister Simpson, except here in Yellowknife, of course, where I'm better known as Keelan's brother. My mother's family are settlers from Manitoba. My parents met in Inuvik in the 1970s and settled back in Hay River shortly after. I've lived in the south while my parents attended post-secondary and, later, when I earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Grant MacEwan University followed by a law degree from the University of Alberta. The value of education was instilled in me at an early age, and I know firsthand the advantages, opportunities, and freedoms that it provides. That said, I didn't finish law school until I was 34 so I spent a number of years working in different areas - from the service industry to sales to office work to construction - learning valuable lessons from each experience.
After law school, I returned to the North and was set to begin a career practicing law in late 2015. As fate would have it, the territorial general election was just around the corner, so I put my name forward and was elected in November 2015.
During my first term in the 18th Assembly, I was a Regular Member. I sat on the Standing Committees on Government Operations and Economic Development and Environment. I was also the deputy Speaker and chair of the Committee of the Whole, which meant I sat at that table and listened to countless hours of debate in this House. Those four years provided me with the unique education and valuable insights into the legislative process about what the government actually does and about the relationship between government and its residents. I also experienced the relationship between Cabinet and Regular Members from the perspective of a Regular Member.
In 2019, I was elected to the 19th Legislative Assembly and Cabinet. I was appointed Government House Leader and Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and less than a year later I was also appointed Minister of Justice. I took what I learned as a Regular Member and immediately put it to use, with a focus on improving how Cabinet interacts with Regular Members. Liberal sharing of information, transparency, and dialogue with Regular Members have been my default positions. While that might sound easy, it takes a concerted and sustained effort. As Premier, I would expect all Ministers to put in the same effort.
As Minister of education, I've been fortunate enough to initiate large scale changes in a number of areas across the department. My work with constituents and on standing committees as a Regular Member led me to focus on ensuring programs are delivered in ways that prioritize respect for residents, ease of access and use, and enhanced flexibility over the traditional focus of minimizing risk to the GNWT.
You will see this in the revamped income assistance program and the new income assistance for seniors and persons with disability programs that will roll out in the new year. We made the biggest changes to these programs in a generation to improve the quality of life for residents, especially for seniors and persons with disabilities, and to remove the barriers that were actually keeping people on income assistance instead of helping them move beyond it. Similarly, we made changes to the student financial assistance program to better support residents, especially Indigenous students from small communities, by removing the semester limit on grants for Indigenous students, removing suspension penalties, and increasing the amounts available to all students. These examples show that real changes to how government operates and to the philosophy of government are achievable and possible.
Another example of breaking the mold is the creation of the unique tricameral governance structure of Aurora College. It was obvious to me that the traditional post-secondary government structure of a board of governors and an academic senate was not appropriate for the NWT. That is why Aurora College's governance system also includes an Indigenous knowledge-holders council. This council will not be a toothless advisory board but an integral component that will influence all aspects of college operations and decision-making. This structure is unique in Canada and, at best, rare in the rest of the world.
These examples represent my approach to governance. It is an approach that will continue to evolve because I continue to learn from every new experience and every new conversation. However, at the core is a philosophy that we are here to serve the interests of the people, not the interest of the government, and we must never waiver from that. I hear lots of negative comments about the bureaucrats who control government.
Most of the public servants I know in my community, in your communities, in the headquarter's offices, also want to do what's in the best interests of the people; however, they're often working in systems that are not designed in a way that allows them to do that. What I believe we need is direction from the Premier to ensure that the interests of the people, the interests of the residents and the businesses of the NWT, are front and center when proposing and developing legislation, writing policies, and designing programs. If we do not provide parameters in which to work, we can't be surprised when the outcomes are not what we want. We have an amazing workforce, and many of them are as frustrated as you. Let's give them what they need so they can work with us towards the vision of a thriving and prosperous NWT.
Earlier, I spoke about the importance and the necessity of working with Indigenous governments. As Minister, I did my best to do this. Early in the last government, I met with the Tlicho government to discuss the Chief Jimmy Bruneau School. The school was built by the Government of Canada in Edzo against the wishes of the Tlicho people who wanted the school in Rae. I, along with department officials, travelled to Edzo to present to the chiefs' executive council on the plans to renovate the existing school. At the beginning of the meeting, the chiefs made clear they would not support a retrofit of the existing school but instead wanted a new school built in Behchoko, closer to home, for the majority of students. Based on that meeting, I asked for and received Cabinet support to abandon the traditional GNWT approach to infrastructure and the Tlicho are now driving the process. This was a first for the GNWT.
That was followed by a similar, but again unique, approach in Colville Lake with the Behdzi Ahda' First Nation.
The Education Act is another example of how we took steps in the last government to change how we work with Indigenous governments.
As you might be able to tell by now, I went into the last government wanting change. One of the biggest changes I was after was the development of the new Education Act. We began with extensive engagements with the public, education bodies, and Indigenous governments, more engagement that would typically be done given the importance of this legislation. Very early it became obvious that a traditional approach to legislative development, even with enhanced engagement, was not appropriate for a piece of legislation that is so important and so impactful. I once again went to Cabinet and sought support to pursue a new approach. Until then, the only legislation codeveloped with Indigenous governments was related to lands and resources, and that's because it was required by the devolution agreements. Even then the parties involved had to be signatories to the agreement. Regardless, Cabinet supported the proposed approach of codeveloping the legislation through the NWT Council of Leaders, which is open to all Indigenous governments in the territory. Again, this is a first for the GNWT.
This is the direction that the GNWT is headed. It is the future of governance in the NWT, and we must embrace it and fully commit to it. However, we must take a deliberate and coordinated approach. There was no roadmap for these instances I've talked - about for the school projects, for the Education Act. I had to learn as I went, as did the GNWT and the Indigenous governments. If I am elected, I will ensure that the structures and mechanisms to facilitate collaboration with Indigenous governments are codeveloped and implemented so that we are able to continue down this path towards that vision of a thriving NWT where Indigenous governments and the GNWT work as equals.
Colleagues, there is much, much more that I could say, but I look forward to continued conversations with each of you over the next week and over the next four years. Regardless of what happens, I want to reaffirm my commitment to the people of the Northwest Territories and to each of you. I will continue to work hard to listen and to use this honour that I have been given by my constituents to do what I can to make our territory a better place for our residents, their children, and the generations to come. Thank you.