Voters of the Frame Lake riding re-elected me to the 19th Legislative Assembly in the November 2019 general election. Frame Lake has been my home for over 25 years.
I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and have lived in Yellowknife since 1985. I hold a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts in Planning from the University of Waterloo.
Since coming to Yellowknife, I have worked for Indigenous, federal and territorial governments and agencies on land use planning, environmental assessment and resource management. The focus of my work experience has been in collaborative planning and resource management, particularly in building relationships with First Nations governments and other partners in responsible resource management. Most recently, I was the Executive Director for an environmental oversight body at the Ekati diamond mine.
I have a strong leadership background in public government, and served as a Yellowknife City Councillor from 1997 to 2006. During my service on Yellowknife City Council, I chaired the City Waste Management and GNWT Waste Reduction and Recovery Committees that led to beverage container recycling, decreased use of retail bags and future electronics recycling. I led the introduction of Yellowknife’s community energy planning initiative, promoted economic diversification for Yellowknife and pushed for a stronger Smoking By-Law.
Through my municipal council and volunteer work, I was the lead non-governmental negotiator for the Environmental Agreement on the Giant Mine Remediation Project resulting in the creation of an independent oversight body, investment into ongoing research towards a better solution for dealing with toxic underground arsenic and better public reporting.
As a community volunteer, I have participated in the work of Alternatives North, Ecology North, Canadian Crossroads International and the Wade Hamer Hockey League. I was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his work on Giant Mine and the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Medal in 2002 for my research on the postal history of northern Canada.
Perhaps most importantly, I am married to Suzette Montreuil and have two children, Amber and René.