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

Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last year I asked that the wait times for rehabilitative services like OT, PT, and speech be publicly reported. The Minister shared an interest in advocating for greater transparency of wait times. So can the Minister share any updates on if and when this type of reporting will be available in real time like an online dashboard. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister mentioned that the current service model focuses on primarily on children that are birth to five years of age. And we know that typically at about age six children age out of the system, and the model that sorry. They switch to a consultation model at age six. So given the impacts of COVID19, is Health and Social Services looking to increase or remove this ageout limit to increase access to services in our community schools and that includes in Yellowknife here. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Kam Lake is very proud to have a few pages joining us this week. We have Kristine White, Rider Jensen, and Sarah Mercer that are representing Kam Lake as pages in the House. So thank you very much.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister identifying that it is a work in progress and that ECE is still working on this. And I also appreciate the Minister of Health referencing that they are currently working on this with other departments, including the department of education. I think it's really important, and we can't still find ourselves in another decade simply looking at the fact that there's vacancies and saying, well, we just don't have enough speech language pathologist, so we just have to make do. We're going to have to look at other creative solutions like...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I almost forgot to mention happy birthday to the Minister of Housing today. My next questions are not for her. They are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment.

My first question, Mr. Speaker, is the GNWT's response to the OAG's education audit contained an action item of to develop greater integration of services for children and youth in the education system through expanding regional capacity. This action item is currently on hold. What concerns me is the deliverables of this action item were to explore regional approaches to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that there is a national shortage of speech language pathologists, is health working with ECE to create a hybrid model of partnerships, resident speech language pathologists, and communitybased paraprofessionals to provide the much needed ontheground support in our community schools. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Mr. Speaker, this time last year when I spoke to the Minister about rehabilitation services, including speech language pathology, the Minister advised that health recently organized the delivery of speech services to focus on children from birth to five years of age. How has this change impacted service delivery in the last year, and how has it changed wait times for speech language pathology. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, for over a decade Canadians have acknowledged the growing shortage of speechlanguage pathologists, especially in school settings. These services are critical for all children to access education equitably. The deficit is due, in part, to the limited number of openings in graduate programs and the increased need for speechlanguage pathologists as their scope of practice widens, rates of neurodivergent children grows, and classrooms play catchup in a postpandemic world. Also, we have an aging population.

This national shortage impacts education outcomes in the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 133)

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I ask that the chair rise and report progress.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 132)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker,

WHEREAS the consensus government process convention on priority setting and reporting calls for the establishment of a special committee on transition matters;

AND WHEREAS transition to a new Assembly is an appropriate time for reporting on matters of ongoing action, discussion, and consideration;

AND WHEREAS Members of the 20th Assembly may wish to consider how to build on the direction and deliberations of the 19th Legislative Assembly;

NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that pursuant to Rule 9.2(8), the...