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 111)

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Yes, opening remarks for our committee report were read into the record yesterday, and the first motion, Mr. Chair, is I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories declare the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in child and family services a crisis and develop a wholeofgovernment response in partnership with Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services audit all child and family services resources, ensuring they are all plain language, culturallysafe and easily accessible online, including a plain language summary of the Child and Family Services Act. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, do I think this is a revolutionary game changing budget? No.

I have shared my views on the budget as a whole in my reply to the budget address towards the beginning of this sitting. But true change takes time, Mr. Speaker. Evolution takes time. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most patient person in this House. But I acknowledge that we are at a place where costs are being stretched in all directions. Inflation is having a real impact on the people we serve as well as the government who serves them. And our expectations of how the government...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop a Child and Family Services Evaluation and Monitoring Framework, including a data profile on children and youth in care. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services deliver, and make mandatory, culturallysafe and traumainformed training for foster families. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess what I am going to do is kind of shift here to just a GNWT focus and take the feds out of the equation.

So even within the GNWT, there are existing contracts. We have hundreds of millions of dollars of carryovers from Infrastructure every year and some of those are contracts that have already been set before COVID, before the inflation. Like even a contract that was set at this time last year would have been incurring additional substantial additional costs this year. And some of those might have people in certain business situations where...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services increase funding to Indigenous governments, communities and organizations to deliver addictions recovery ontheland healing options specifically tailored to youth. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I guess further to the conversations that I'm hearing today between colleagues on this side of the House, the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Finance or ITI here today, one of the things that has struck me is this idea of getting projects done on time and on budget right now. And one of the things that we have just heard as well acknowledged by Minister Wawzonek on screen was, you know, the rising costs of living in the Northwest Territories and inflation as well.

So if, you know, costs of wood, steel, all have gone up over the last period of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs lead an allofgovernment approach to ensuring access to recreational programming by providing additional funding for recreational facilities and programming so all families have increased access to these spaces outside regular business day hours and additional funding specifically for those children and youth in care to participate in extracurricular activities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.