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.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment
Statements in Debates
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 158)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, in my capacity as a Member of the Board of Management.
Members accepted the recommendation of the independent commission on Members' pay and benefits to reduce the base salary for Regular Members by $4,000. A Regular Member can earn back this $4,000 through participation on two standing committees. This bill allows for this $4,000 to be increased at the same rate as the base salary for Members to ensure that the base rate between Regular Members and...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I would like to say thank you to the other side. I think that there's great opportunity that can come from this, especially for youth who are aging out of care. I'm wondering if the Minister will commit to tabling a status report on this in the following sitting? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would really love to see a portal created for youth so that youth have access to information that they're looking for. So I'm wondering if the Minister responsible for Youth is willing to work on a portal so that youth can access stuff like applications for housing, low income housing, applications for identification; there could be a link to information on student financial assistance. The options are endless. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in this day and age about 40 percent of youth between the age of 20 and 29 still live at home across Canada because it's very expensive cost of living out there. Housing is hard to come by. And some youth just need to stay at home longer for educational purposes. And some youth, our kids just don't want to leave home, Mr. Speaker, and that's fine. Not all youth have this ability to stay at home or to stay with their foster families. And so I'd like to ask the Minister responsible for Homelessness if he's willing to work on a youth portal that...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question was specific to youth aging out of care. Even when I was putting together my questions for today, I actually spent a lot of time looking around on the health and social services website. It's information about what youth have access to as far as funding support, access to housing; none of this is available online. So any youth who is exiting care that wants autonomy in being able to figure out what services they have available, this doesn't exist right now. And it certainly doesn't exist in a venue that is targeted directly to these...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive the rules and put Bill 90 directly into Committee of the Whole and not standing committee. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's comments about not turning themselves inside out in order to meet the reporting requirements of this. But it seems like almost in some way, shape, or form by doing this funding agreement that the federal government is actually dictating how and where the GNWT will be spending its health care dollars in exchange for such a small portion of money for that. And so I really appreciate that the health minister is, in fact, continuing to draw more money out of the federal government. One of the things that's interesting about this and...
Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I really feel for the Department of Health and Social Services and also for the people of the Northwest Territories for, you know, to have to take the time to do an action plan for less than probably what is forced growth for the entire Department of Health and Social Services. Seems kind of crazy that the federal government is screaming from the rooftops that they're doing all these favours for health care across the country. So I appreciate the Minister's acknowledgement that the department is doing an action plan for the federal...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act.
Bill 72 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 2nd, 2023, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 19th, 2023, and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 29th, 2023.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, is ready for consideration...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to adjust the allowance in part 5 of Schedule C annually using the average change in the consumer price index over the past five years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
