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. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. I have spoken numerous times in the House before about the community residency policy. That is a policy that demands that NWT residents live in an NWT community for varying times up to one year before they can add their names to the public housing wait list. Can the Minister of housing speak to the goal of this policy? Thank you.
WHEREAS Section 48(1) of the Human Rights Act provides for the establishment of an adjudication panel composed of at least three persons, appointed by the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly;
AND WHEREAS Section 48(4) of the Human Rights Act provides that the members of the panel hold office, during good behaviour, for a term of four years, with the exception of the first members appointed;
AND WHEREAS there are currently three vacancies of the adjudication panel;
AND WHEREAS the Board of Management is tasked with recommending...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Just as a final question today, I am wondering if the Housing Corporation has ever reviewed the unintended consequences of this policy. If yes, what have they found, and if not, why not and would they be willing to look into that? Thank you.
I appreciate the Minister's reference to fairness. I think that that is a fair comment, and I think that fairness is important. I think that fairness needs to be extended to the residents of the Northwest Territories, where we really do struggle with housing and people want fair access to safe and secure housing. This policy does not only prevent people from the rest of Canada putting their names on housing wait lists. It prevents Northwest Territories residents from putting their names on wait lists, from other communities. I think that that's why I keep asking these questions, is because I...
Does the Minister have any ideas of what the leading causes of mortgage arrears in the Northwest Territories and how the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation intends to address these challenges through their homeownership programs?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In the 2007 Auditor General's report on housing, it was found that about 71 percent of NWT Housing Corporation mortgages were in arrears. I'm wondering if the Minister of Housing can let us know what the average annual cost of home ownership mortgages are to the NWT Housing Corporation and including any maintenance or repair costs that the NWT Housing Corporation funds, as well. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am wondering if the Minister can speak to how the NWT Housing Corporation is driving the changes needed for communities to have affordable access to building material, repair, and maintenance within all communities of the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to start off today by saying that I am honoured to be wearing sustainably harvested sealskin earrings made by the incredibly talented NWT artist found on social media under Inuk 360.
Mr. Speaker, the North desperately needs more housing, so last week's announcement of a $57 million investment from the federal government was a welcomed one. The need for safe, affordable, and well-built housing has been the North's primary social challenge for decades and has consistently been identified by Assembly standing committees as a root issue at the core of...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I give notice that, on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, I will move the following motion: Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Sahtu, that Mr. Sheldon Toner of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories for appointment as a member of the Human Rights Adjudication Panel, effective immediately for a term of four years; and further, that Lou Sebert of Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and Jay Sengupta of Hamilton, Ontario, be recommended to the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories for...
