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.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister can indicate what ratepayers can expect to pay for power as a result of the general rate application and how they can get involved in the process? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if I had to make a list of sentences I heard my dad say the most during my childhood "turn off the lights" would make top three. Now as a parent myself, I get it.
Northerners pay the highest electricity rates in Canada. According to Energy Hub, a social enterprise, the 2021 average cost of NWT electricity was 38.2 cents per kilowatt hour. That's more than twice the national average and even 2 percent higher than Nunavut.
High electricity rates put pressure on residents' cost of living and constituents tell me they can't keep up. Sky high power rates will...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I appreciate that very clear and concise answer.
My next question is in regards to multisport games which we see had actuals of 650, and then is no longer in the budget. I'm wondering, given that it was funding to support NWT or Team NWT participation in major supporting events, is that removed because it's not on Arctic Winter Games year? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Yeah, Madam Chair, I'd like to echo what my colleague for Frame Lake is saying. These are our mental wellness dollars right here, especially for small communities that may not have access to the same facilities or same programs here in Yellowknife.
And just in reference to the travel dollars or travel restrictions that have gone down, I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the impact of the reduction of those travel dollars and what travel was reduced from this key activity? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I've been bringing this policy up in this House since February of 2020, and so I appreciate that the Minister's willing to go back and talk to the department and bring it back to me but after two years, my patience is wearing thin. So I just want the policy, really, to be reevaluated for what it is, because it isn't fair.
So I guess my next question for the Minister is how is it fair, then, if the Housing Corporation cannot stipulate how a waitlist is used however ECE can stipulate that anybody who wants access to income assistance must put their name on a housing waitlist even if...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't have the opportunity to go and talk to all of the different LHOs and let them know how this policy is inadvertently affecting residents of the Northwest Territories. So will the Minister have that conversation with LHOs and remove the community residency policy from the Housing Corporation's policy network? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are always talking about connection connection between economic and social success, culture and climate, and people. Small world stories with roots in the North are my favorite, and I love to learn of the familiar connections between colleagues, constituents, and Northerners. The North is vast in land but small in personal connection.
So, Mr. Speaker, it is frustrating that the government upholds a policy that dismisses the connections that exist across our territory and our reliance on one another. The Housing Corporation community to residency policy...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'd love the opportunity to respond to each of those points, but I think you'd cut me off.
It sounds to me like what needs to happen is a reassessment of the priority point system that's allocated to residents whose names are on the waitlist so that all of these issues, that the Minister is stating that add to fairness, are the ones actually being evaluated.
So will the Minister remove the community residency policy and instead look at revising the point system? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of the Housing Corporation. I'm wondering if the Minister of the Housing Corporation will remove the community residency policy? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I see that there's one additional staff member for corporate management. Can the Minister inform us as to where that staff member is going?
