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 97)
I'll just ask one question instead of the three I snuck in there. No, the Canada Housing Benefit I'll ask about in another section. My question was specific to the rent supplement leasing and the increase to that, and can the Minister please speak to what that increase is getting, if it's getting more leases to more units in the territory through market rent? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. In response to that, then, does the NWT Housing Corporation intend to put forward a costed measurable plan as to how they are going to address the declining CMHC funding, which as I understand, are able to be offset by the bilateral funding agreement until 20272028. So it gives them a little bit of time to come up with that plan. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my next question is in regards to how this will impact the rest of the housing stock.
So we have these new units coming onboard, and we have funding secured through FMB for that. Does this mean that more existing units will then come out of the public housing stock and be transferred into homeownership? And if so, what number is projected to come out of the public housing stock this year in response to that? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I feel like I need to apologize because I'm kind of through you talking to people that I have back to, and I always feel bad for that. So sorry about that.
So the GNWT has committed support for the O and M on those units for the 20222023 year. But is it then correct that there's no commitment of funding for O and M on those units for any future year after that? So can I just get confirmation on that one and what the plan is for that going forward, if they plan to continue to ask FMB for that and if there is stability in that? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So there's well, I guess there's so I'm going to start with there's currently 2,900, roughly, rental housing units and public housing or community housing services, rather, and what is the plan for how many units are planning to come online in this coming fiscal year of new units? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, when we first sat in this House through our very first budget cycle, at that time the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation identified that our way forward was through partnership. And so I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to how many partnership agreements have been signed with Indigenous governments or NGOs in the life of this Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my first question actually relates to what the Member for Yellowknife North was talking about, and that's the opportunity to enter into longterm leases with different organizations, different renters, and potentially opening up doors to innovative agreements with the NWT Housing Corporation. So I'm wondering if the Housing Corporation has a policy that leads the way for longterm leases to happen between the Housing Corporation and either Indigenous governments or NGOs in our communities. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this week we heard from the Member from Nunakput or in an exchange between the Member for Nunakput and the Health Minister that Tuktoyaktuk was unable to hire a community health counsellor because they didn't have available housing. And so I'm wondering what type of action this spurs from the NWT Housing Corporation or what type of agreements sorry, what type of partnership conversations happen at the level of the Housing Corporation in response to understanding how lack of housing has an impact on access to mental health counsellors in...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, two years ago when I first asked about longterm lease agreements and the policies that went with them, I also asked about policies that lead the way for partnership agreements between the NWT Housing Corporation and Indigenous governments and NGOs. There's a lot of different ways that this can happen. It doesn't have to simply be between lease agreements. It can be where Indigenous governments or NGOs actually are able to easier get the government or sorry, money through the federal government, build a building, and then the NWT Housing...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yesterday as my child got dressed for hockey, children in the Ukraine braced for war. As Russia makes the worst kind of history, we must grapple with the best way to be activists for humanity. Again, we face the interconnectedness of the world.
Two years ago, I stood in this House and spoke about the rising cost of construction and healthcare and the vulnerability of the North to surprise events ranging from faulty sterilization machines at the new hospital to climate change, the global pandemic, and now a war that will continue to escalate costs and uncertainty...
