R.J. Simpson

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Track R.J.

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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word is know.

MLA for Hay River North

Won his last election, in 2023, with 66% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Question 42-20(1): Supreme Court of Canada Ruling regarding the Indigenous Child Welfare Act February 9th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This decision was made by me as Attorney General in the last government. The Attorney General makes decisions in a way that is apolitical. There is no desire to put a political lens on these decisions. What was in question was a very specific legal question. It wasn't -- we weren't fighting any Indigenous governments. We weren't on side with the provinces. The reason that I intervened in that case is because there was specific language in that federal Act that we needed clarity on in relation to how it interacted with the NWT Act. That's not an issue for any of the provinces. They're not established by the NWT Act. They're established by the Constitution. What the decision looks like at first glance, and it's only been a few hours since it was released, is that the territory is essentially on the same footing as a province. So we wanted the Act to continue. The first line of the submission was to the -- to the Supreme Court was that the Attorney General affirms the inherent right of self-governments of Indigenous peoples and their inherent jurisdiction in relation to child and family services. So that's continuing as well. The court reaffirmed that.

So, Mr. Speaker, what we were seeking is clarity. This wasn't a fight that we were getting engaged in. It wasn't an attempt to hold on to power. We need a predictable and workable legal system in the Northwest Territories, and we were looking for clarity on that.

Politics does not come into decisions of the Attorney General. I recall not that long ago there was a federal case where the Prime Minister was accused of trying to interfere with the decision of the Attorney General, and that didn't work out well. So I keep the political side and the Attorney General side separate. That's the way that it should be. And I just encourage all Members to look at the decision, understand what the -- what we put forward as a government and not politicalize this and try to turn it into something that it's not, because it is not what it has been portrayed in this House on a number of occasions. It doesn't matter how many times I stand up and explain this, it doesn't seem to sink in.

So we have been working with the Indigenous government. We're going to continue working with the Indigenous government. We all have the same end goal, and we're going to work together to get there. And I'm glad that this case came out and provided clarity. I've said that this situation is some -- thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take your direction. I will end it there. Thank you.

Question 42-20(1): Supreme Court of Canada Ruling regarding the Indigenous Child Welfare Act February 9th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We were happy to see that the decision was in line with the principles that we are already upholding, so we will continue to do what we're doing. Thank you.

Recognition Of Visitors In The Gallery February 9th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to recognize the chiefs as the Premier, so I'd like to recognize Chief Betsina and Chief Sangris. We always appreciate when they show up in the House, and I look forward to continuing to work with them over the next four years. Thank you.

Question 36-20(1): Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Requests February 8th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, there needs to be some relief for the staff and this process needs to be one that is doable and achievable. And so based on that review, we'll make a decision about which direction we go. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that setting some more reasonable timelines is on the table. So we'll be looking at everything, including the timelines. Thank you.

Question 36-20(1): Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Requests February 8th, 2024

Thank you. There is a statutory requirement in the act to conclude the review within 18 months of the start of the 20th Assembly. So it must be done before the summer of 2025. Hopefully sooner, but that remains to be seen depending on what the priorities of this Assembly wind up being. Thank you.

Question 36-20(1): Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Requests February 8th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm confident that the timeliness will improve. I'm not sure if the issue at large will be corrected. Across Canada, governments are struggling to fulfill these ATIP requests. Because of the parameters around them, they're very labour intensive. They take a lot of resources. And I recall conversations back in the 18th Assembly when this legislation was being considered, and we really shot for the moon. I was on the standing committee with the Member from Range Lake that is -- back then it was Kam Lake -- and, you know, we did push for these tight timelines and we got them. And now I'm in the position of having to fulfill them and realizing that they're just -- they're not feasible. So we are going to conduct a review of the ATIP Act and review those timelines because we want to live up to our obligations but we can't set goals for ourselves that are just not achievable with the resources that we have. So we could -- you know, we could make cuts in other areas and throw a bunch of resources at fulfilling these requests in a more timely fashion, but I think we really need to look at where our priorities are and weigh those against things like this. Thank you.

Question 36-20(1): Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Requests February 8th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And the access privacy office has seen an increase in requests and an increase in the complexity of those requests. I'm not sure if there's a huge public demand. It's a relatively small group of people that are being served by that office. There's companies, there's lawyers, there's individuals who are requesting documents that, you know, end up being tens of thousands or thousands of pages. Every single one of those pages has to be found, discovered by someone in say, for example, MACA, who has two people working full-time to fill these requests for a very very very small segment of the territory. They then have to go to the access and privacy office, and they go through line by line, sometimes tens of thousands of pages, so it is a lot of work. The office has -- the access and privacy office has seen some vacancies. Those are in the process of being filled, in some cases double filled. And hopefully this month -- I'm expecting that this month that office will be back to full strength. Thank you.

Question 32-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Indigenous Procurement Policy February 8th, 2024

Yes.

Question 32-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Indigenous Procurement Policy February 8th, 2024

Working on it, Mr. Speaker. There's a lot of voices in the room so it's taking some time, but we'll get there. Thank you.

Question 32-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Indigenous Procurement Policy February 8th, 2024

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So I have been Premier a couple months now, and there's many different things in this portfolio. For some reason, there's homelessness, there's procurement, all sorts of different things. So I'm still wrapping my head around every single policy that we have, and I want to make sure that I put my stamp on it going forward. It's the start of a new term, and I'm not just going to accept what has been given. I want to make sure that I'm working with the Indigenous governments and going in the right direction before we start -- before I start putting things out that might not yet be finalized. So I'll just leave it at that. Thank you.