Caitlin Cleveland

Member Kam Lake

Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

The Honourable Caitlin Cleveland was first elected in the 19th Assembly as the MLA for Kam Lake in 2019, and has served as the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, and Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment since 2023 after being acclaimed to the 20th Assembly. 

In addition to owning and operating a northern business for over 20 years, Minister Cleveland worked in a variety of communications and policy roles in both the public and private sectors before entering politics. 

Between 2019 to 2023, she chaired the Standing Committee on Social Development, fulfilling a goal to be a part of the discussions and decisions affecting social programs in the Northwest Territories. Her noteworthy work on the Committee included guiding the considerable review and input into recommendations on housing in the NWT, suicide prevention, and improvements to caring for children in care and building supported families. 

Within the scope of her portfolios, Minister Cleveland is focused on helping children grow into successful NWT residents that recognize opportunities and develop successful careers that contribute to a growing economy. She advocates for new approaches to sector diversification and innovation, and ensures the North is welcoming both skilled foreign workers and investment in the critical mineral resources across the territory. She persistently explores solutions for efficient and equitable access to programs and services, upholding a shared vision of an NWT where people are supported in the ways they wish to live, work, and grow. 

Minister Cleveland is a lifelong resident of Yellowknife where she lives with her husband and their three children.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Extension
11124
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 7)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in short, none. And the slightly longer more informative answer in that is that under the Act, because Aurora College is arm's length, the board of governors oversees hiring of the president and the president reports directly to the board chair. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 7)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to the peer group placement, I want to start there. And what is really crucial about that and what determines if, you know, a student well, what it calls on is that a student stays with their age group because studies have shown that has a huge benefit to students. And what's really important there is when students stay with their grade level, that when they go up to the next grade that they are given an education plan that outlines the student needs and how those will be met in the next grade level to ensure that we are still meeting...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 7)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while the department doesn't practice social passing as a policy so to speak, it does endorse peer group placement for students in the Northwest Territories. This is researchedbased education practice, and it's used in many jurisdictions across Canada and worldwide. What I want to add here, though, is that peer group placements do not prevent parents, students, teachers, and also even the education system as a whole, from holding appropriate expectations for students to continue growing in our territory. And I think it's really important that amendments...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are in a position now where the Aurora College is at an arm's length relationship from the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. That being said, ECE does provide funding for interpreters to support training through the interpretertranslator funding program, and there's also connections with other jurisdictions to explore possible training options for future interpreters. And I think it's also worth noting here the Indigenous language instructor employment plan that is currently a pilot within the Beaufort Delta and the Deh Cho...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this is a really important question, and I can't assure the Member what she is looking for here today from me. But access to services in Indigenous languages are found in section 11(2) of the Official Languages Act, and that guarantees that people have the right to communicate with and access government services in Indigenous languages from their community area and also regional offices. So the Member reflected previously on the disbandment of the languages bureau in 1997. And since then, each Minister is now responsible for the delivery...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Member, first off, for reflecting on the fact that this is the only jurisdiction that has a whole month dedicated to Indigenous Languages Month, and so I very much appreciate that. The theme this month is Say It In Our Language, and I also want to thank the Member for speaking her language in the House here with us on a regular basis.

In addition to Indigenous Languages Month that's celebrated every February, Mr. Speaker, ECE continues to partner with seven Indigenous governments to deliver the mentor apprenticeship program. In...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a review of this program was launched in the last Assembly, and this review was jumpstarted based on feedback that was received by education bodies along with the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association. And what it was responding to ultimately was the need for the unique instances in each of our communities to be acknowledged and, really, for us to be able to acknowledge, along with education bodies, that the needs of our communities are different from Yellowknife to regional centres to small communities and the ability of education bodies to...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say personally I've never actually worked through the process. I can also say having worked with multiple residents who have gone through the process of hiring workers, what they have done is hired a consultant to help through the process because it is largely a process that takes place with the federal government, and there's it's a very extensive process that happens, Mr. Speaker. But these three staff members do their best to work through educating employers as to how that looks, how that works, what forms are required, and also what...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories nominee program is a program that ECE works with the federal government by which people from around the world can move to the Northwest Territories. I'll stop there and wait for the next question. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 5)

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that. I can honestly share with the Member that I am, as a parent and as a member of the community, very much committed to ensuring that the mental health of our students and our youth and children is supported and would appreciate the opportunity to be able to speak with any Member of the House about where this program is going. This program with many education bodies is still rolling out. They're still looking for people and deciding what this looks like. So not every education body hasn't absolutely hundred percent, you know, set in stone what it...