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, my questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NTPC.
My first question, Mr. Speaker, is NTPC's most recent rate application was authorized for three years starting in May of 2019. That means the current rate schedule has almost expired and the PUB needs to approve a new one. And so I'm wondering if the Minister can update the House on when the public can expect to know the proposed changes to rates over the next three years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 103)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my concern is that the intent of travel reductions were to I guess remove dollars from a budget item for southern travel, not for northern travel. And so my concern is a greater impact in the North here. And we always understood that there was still going to be some travel needs, especially travel needs that were required for access to programs and services for youth. And so my question is does this have an impact on the ability of children or youth in the territory to travel for sport? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister wants to minimize rates as much as possible across the Northwest Territories, and a big help for that would be increasing third party funding. So I'm wondering if the Minister can confirm whether NTPC has its own dedicated team to source federal funding or if a dedicated position to source innovation and partnership dollars can be implemented within NTPC staff? Thank you.
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.
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, Madam Chair. I see that there is not a substantial increase to policy legislation and communication for that line item. So is that being funded from within? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Yeah, thank you very much for that. And I guess the department, I suppose, has heard that there's definitely support for growth in this area from this side of the House, and I just want to and I value what Mr. Jenkins just said about the AEA program as well but just want to also reiterate, and support the words of my colleague from Hay River South, about investment in Arctic Energy Alliance as well and increasing that line item so that we can see some more funding to innovative energy supports in the territory. Thank you.
