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, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the committee's report was read into the record on November 30th, 2021 so I do not have any additional substantive comments to add at this time. Individual Members may have comment on the report, and I would like to thank the committee for their work on this report. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's anecdote about ECE and income assistance being able to help out so that seniors aren't going without. I'm wondering if that is a separate application process or if that is a back end process that is handled by the staff at ECE so that I guess undue administrative burdens aren't being placed on seniors. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of ECE.
In October, the Financial Post published an article speaking to a 300 percent surge in propane prices. This was reflective of prices seen in Edmonton, just south of us. And so I'm wondering if the Minister of ECE has seen any increases to propane costs in the Northwest Territories specific to the seniors home heating subsidy. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I agree with the Minister, the GNWT cannot continue to grow its budget and expand its wallet a whole heck of a lot more than it already is doing. And this is what this organization would do, it would give the artists of the Northwest Territories an opportunity to bring in private and federal public dollars so that we can grow this wallet, so to speak, of NWT artists. And so I'm wondering how the GNWT intends to support northern artists to fulfill this work of the deliverable from the strategy to explore the creation of an NWT arts association. How is ECE...
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the work that is being done by ECE but as it stands right now, many businesses in Yellowknife, particularly, are spending tens of thousands of dollars to help bring newcomers up to the territory and to help them through the immigration process. And so one of the things that has worked for other jurisdictions are certain exemptions that are particular or community specific. And so by working with industry leaders, we can find out what those exemptions are and go and communicate those to the federal government. So that's what I'm...
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and my apologies for calling you Madam Chair. Madam Speaker, my second question for the Minister, and I'm happy that the Minister spoke to working with the other territories and taking from lessons learned from the other territories.
Given the success that Yukon has had with their nominee program and the potential for the territories to further work together, will the Minister commit to discussing the potential for an Arctic immigration strategy with Ministers responsible from all three territories? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are nearing the end of the GNWT's fiveyear immigration strategy with a vision of building a skilled and culturally diverse workforce that meets local employer's needs and leads to a vibrant diverse economy. The existing strategy lacked measurable targets so I can't say if the GNWT met its goals, but we have never filled our immigration quota so before this government sets a course for the next five years, I would like to make some suggestion.
First, a made in the NWT immigration program. Last year the Yukon launched a threeyear locationrestricted open work permit...
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I'm wondering if the Minister can clarify what the role of that person would be as far as working with industry stakeholders in the Northwest Territories.
One of the things that I'd asked for in my Member's statement today was more of an active role on the part of the GNWT to actually find out what is the biggest challenge for our industry leaders in the Northwest Territories and help them fill those positions. So I'm wondering if this position will fill some of that role, or if that is something that I would still need to pursue ECE to do. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. Madam Speaker, it's my understanding that the NWT immigration strategy from 2017 to 2022 is a carbon copy of the Yukon's immigration strategy. So I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to why the Yukon is doing so well at filling their nominee program quota compared to the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Further to my Member's statement, I'm wondering if the Minister can advise us of the rates of Alzheimer's, dementia, and Parkinson's disease in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
