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. So, Mr. Speaker, in December I was presented by the president and the chairperson with an options paper so that I would know what they were looking at. That options paper had multiple different directions that the board might choose to go on it. Following that meeting, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment sat down with the board to let them know what each of the different options would mean as far as potential costs that would arise or how that would come out of their MOU so that they completely understood that it wasn't, you know, just a one...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And I love this question because I love the opportunity to talk about the fact that we have a diverse economy in the Northwest Territories and really what we're doing at this point is ensuring that we're supporting the diversity of our economy. And so we have programs that support agriculture, tourism. We have, you know, the -- sorry, the Member mentioned film. We have a film program that continues to grow because the multipliers for our film projects in the territory are incredible. It's got almost a 9 to 1 multiplier. And so investing there really is investing...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So we're certainly always making sure that we're getting the best bang for our buck. This was an RFP that was recently awarded, and so certainly still going through that process on a regular basis and so this contract was recently awarded and went through our procurement processes.
It's worth noting, too, that over the -- this is certainly not the norm. You know, our royalties over the last ten years have looked as wonderful as $62 million and then, unfortunately, this year it's far lower. I certainly hope that diamond commodities will turn around but that's not...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following two documents: Aurora College Annual Report 2023-2024 and College Corporate Plan 2024-2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
The short answer, yes, this is something that is on top of their other duties for sure. But the other side of this is because we are currently the national chair for committee on internal trade, we are also able to pull on the CIT budget in order to -- we're not expected to fund these additional meetings, which I think is a positive for the territory.
The other piece of this is this was also the area where immigration used to sit within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and that portion has now been pulled over to ECE, so it does narrow their focus somewhat. And I can say they...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So these changes took effect last year, in the fall of last year, and so they're still certainly in their infancy as people get used to them and as we see how they're impacting communities. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, as a business owner who has actually dabbled in the SEED program, I certainly have my own ideas of how to improve the program. The program itself is not meant to be something that people apply for every year. It is meant to be a piece that really propels businesses to the next level. There are Northerners who have used SEED program in order to write business plans and get support in that sense to ensure that they are putting together a business idea and the supports that go along with it that make a robust and self-reliant business plan at the end...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, we can certainly help in the form of a business plan to ensure that all options are considered and that, you know, there's a robust plan that goes with it. I know that in the Member's area, there is incredible areas to go and visit. There's incredible artists. I know when I am in the region and I'm -- I get to see some earrings and stuff, I always wish I could buy them all, and so I think something like that would be incredibly successful. And so I would certainly say that having a conversation with the regional office and there can be conversations...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that would be a pretty significant budgetary ask and, at the same time, a building is just a building without the staff that need to go along with it. So that is not a question that I have an answer to right here on the floor of the House, and I think certainly would have more information as more of these details get ironed out. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Well, Mr. Chair, I'm not shy to ask for money; that's for sure, and I'm sure my Cabinet colleagues would confirm that.
In my short time as Minister of ITI, we've managed to take this fund from $100,000 to $500,000 and now this year to $1 million. And so we're seeing a continued significant amount of investment in it, acknowledging that the benefits are huge and not just for the North Slave region but for the whole territory.
Through a CanNor investment, we were able to work with a location scout who travelled the territory and actually created a bank of...
