For the first time ever, the premier of the NWT hails from Hay River.
Hay River North MLA R.J. Simpson is now Premier R.J. Simpson after being sworn in as the territorySA国际影视传媒檚 top politician on Dec. 7. Simpson was selected by MLAs on the second ballot of voting over Range Lake MLA Kieron Testart and Yellowknife South MLA Caroline Wawzonek.
SA国际影视传媒 had the chance to talk with the new premier in his office on Dec. 7 for a wide-ranging interview. The following has been edited for clarity and content.
NNSL: Well, Premier Simpson SA国际影视传媒� how does that sound? Still sinking in?
R.J. Simpson (RS): ItSA国际影视传媒檚 slowly sinking in. They say it takes a couple of days, but it kind of feels like when you put a frog in cold water, you boil it and it wonSA国际影视传媒檛 jump out. ISA国际影视传媒檝e been here eight years and they turned the oven on back then, so I think ISA国际影视传媒檓 handling it as well as can be expected.
NNSL: Now that everything is in placeSA国际影视传媒� what does the first 100 days or so of an R.J. Simpson government look like?
RS: Well, the first order of business will be looking at portfolios, determining whoSA国际影视传媒檚 the best fit for what, getting to know the ministers and getting them briefed on their portfolios so we can begin work. We also need to work together as an assembly to come up with priorities. The GNWT doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 set the priorities, itSA国际影视传媒檚 the 19 members of the legislative assembly. That work will happen early in the new year.
From my perspective, one of the things I really want to do is take a look at our negotiating mandates with Indigenous governments. That was delayed for a couple of years because of Covid and I want to get on that as soon as I can so we can start making progress on that.
NNSL: Do you have an idea from the six (MLAs) that were selected of who can do what or whoSA国际影视传媒檒l make the best fit (on cabinet)?
RS: Absolutely. ISA国际影视传媒檝e been thinking about it and the members have expressed certain interests in some portfolios. WeSA国际影视传媒檒l have further conversations, see where the strengths are and go from there. I feel good about this group and everyone ISA国际影视传媒檝e talked to, the other MLAs, a lot of them feel good about this group. We have a lot of strengths and diversity and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of optimism.
(Update: Premier Simpson announced his portfolio assignments on Tuesday afternoon.)
NNSL: One of the things you hinted at during your initial speech to the MLAs (while running for premier) was ministers and MLAs are always accountable to the public, but behind the scenes, you have deputy ministers, assistant deputy ministers, other bureaucrats who may not be accountable to the public. How do you square the decisions that are made by bureaucrats and the minister who has to go in front of the public with those decisions? The public doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 always see whatSA国际影视传媒檚 going on behind the scenes.
RS: Anything that comes out of cabinet, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 cabinetSA国际影视传媒檚 decision. No one else wears that. If thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a decision made on the front lines, the public servant is making a decision based on a decision from cabinet and a minister. What we need to do is look at legislation and policies that we put in as cabinet and ensure that it allows bureaucrats who make decisions to make good decisions.
A lot of the time, we run into situations where a policy or legislation says this and that bureaucrat is confined to that box and they canSA国际影视传媒檛 make a decision outside of that, even if winds up being a ridiculous situation. We need a person-centred approach right from the start where we develop policy right on down to program delivery.
NNSL: A big part of the perceived disconnect between the public and government is that they hear something said by a minister and theySA国际影视传媒檙e wondering if itSA国际影视传媒檚 really the minister who made the decision or someone behind the scenes is telling them what to say.
RS: If youSA国际影视传媒檙e asking me if the bureaucrats are running the show, I would say absolutely not. I was minister of ECE (Education, Culture and Employment) in the last assembly and the decisions that came out were mine. You have to take advice from your officials SA国际影视传媒� a lot of times, theySA国际影视传媒檙e the experts on subject matter SA国际影视传媒� and you have to sometimes be confident enough to defy that advice. In the end, I believe that itSA国际影视传媒檚 the ministers who are ultimately responsible and should be responsible. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 how I conducted myself because when you make a decision, you have to own it.
NNSL: You also said during the run-up to the premierSA国际影视传媒檚 vote that the GNWT is as big as itSA国际影视传媒檚 ever been, but not much has changed. Are we to read something into that? Could there be changes coming to the public service? Will there be streamlining of some sort?
RS: We need to look at the services weSA国际影视传媒檙e offering and figure out whether those services are providing value. Are they serving residents the way theySA国际影视传媒檙e supposed to? If not, can we take the resources from that and put them somewhere else? It doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 mean weSA国际影视传媒檒l be doing less, it means weSA国际影视传媒檒l be doing things differently SA国际影视传媒� focusing on areas where itSA国际影视传媒檚 clear weSA国际影视传媒檙e delivering results.
NNSL: One of the big things talked about from the last assembly was a review on what happened during the past year with the evacuations. How soon can we see that happen?
RS: I understand that the review is already underway. But itSA国际影视传媒檚 clear from the public that they want a very robust review, an enhanced reviewSA国际影视传媒�
NNSL: What would that look like? Who would you be talking to?
RS: ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 something cabinet and the assembly has to figure out. The end product needs to be something the public looks at and they feel that their concerns have been addressed. This past summer was unbelievable. Two-thirds of the territory were impacted. We owe it to the public to show them that weSA国际影视传媒檙e taking it seriously.
NNSL: The carbon tax has been a big thorn to residents, especially when it comes to home heating fuel. Will the GNWT consider removing the applied levy or what can it do?
RS: Well, James, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 a federal law that we canSA国际影视传媒檛 just remove. I look at my propane bill and ISA国际影视传媒檓 just shocked every time I see it.
NNSL: I can bring you mine as well.
RS: Exactly (laughs). Everyone is going through that. We did have an exemption on the home heating fuel, but thatSA国际影视传媒檚 now gone. Not because we wanted it to disappear SA国际影视传媒� weSA国际影视传媒檝e been lobbying and weSA国际影视传媒檒l continue to lobby Ottawa to remove that. The rest of Canada was allowed to build its infrastructure without a carbon tax and we didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have that benefit, but now weSA国际影视传媒檙e expected to do the same under a different set of rules. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 just not fair for the North.
NNSL: Economic development is always a big issue, especially now, and ISA国际影视传媒檒l use Yellowknife as an example. There are several small businesses that have gone under or are about to go under for whatever reason. The evacuation certainly didnSA国际影视传媒檛 help matters. What do you do to stimulate things? This territory needs a shot in the arm in the worst way.
RS: One of the biggest things we can do is settle land claims and finalize self-government agreements. I donSA国际影视传媒檛 know if people realize the amount of money that would bring to the territory. Not just for places such as Yellowknife, but it would enhance the regions. You build capacity in the regions, the settled areas provide assurances around land, which is attractive to investors, and when the regions are strong, Yellowknife is strong. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 the biggest thing we can do for the long-term health of the territory.
