Caitlin Cleveland

Member Kam Lake

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.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
11124
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 88)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, does the Housing Corporation have a list of how many units require repairs, major repairs or minor repairs, but are still occupied? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 88)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I'm happy that the Minister brought up the total number of public housing units, and I'm wondering of the total number of public housing units, how many units are currently sitting empty because the Housing Corporation does not have the O and M to fix them up? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 88)

Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's recognition that a lot of this work does require a specialist to really go through this process with someone. And often medical travel's not always a possibility. Sometime there are a multitude of appointments that need to happen, and sometimes along the way people just need to be able to ask questions. And so I'm wondering if this position of a health planner and the plans of the NTHSSA speak to possibilities of creating a host of specialists that can speak to different conditions that Northerners have that Northerners...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 88)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that, and I think that it's important that we establish a baseline if it's expected to go up substantially over the next decade.

Mr. Speaker, the rate of Parkinson's among NWT residents is low, but watching very intimately residents try to go through the process of being diagnosed leads me to believe that maybe we do have more of a higher instance of Parkinson's in the Northwest Territories and Alzheimer's and just are not aware of it.

So I'm wondering, Mr. Speaker, what supports are available to Northerners with neurodegenerative diseases in...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its report on Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act and commends it to the House.

Bill 30, an Act to Amend the Aurora College Act was first introduced by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on June 2nd, 2021, and then referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

Bill 30 proposes changes to the Aurora College Act (the Act) to:

Create a new public governance system for Aurora College;

Move the college to an arm's length relationship with the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. And as the Member for Yellowknife North said, we did already read an extensive report into the House but I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to the Member who did bring this bill forward, and while committee did not reach consensus on a path forward, I do agree that the Member did bring forward a bill for the purpose of fixing a substantial issue in the Northwest Territories, and that relates back to everyone having the right to safe and secure housing and being able to have a warm house at that. And so I think that the issues that are...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, sometimes going to the union can cause a little bit more friction than people are looking for right off the bat. And so I'm hoping that together we can find an alternate solution for staff who want questions and further clarifications. But often the current process means that frontline staff receive far less opportunity for professional development from their colleagues that work in headquarters departments. This is required for nurses who want to gain the experience and the certifications required to work in small remote nursing stations and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Finance and the Minister responsible for Human Resources.

Further to my statement today, I'm wondering if the Department of Finance has a clear policy of who can apply and cannot apply for education leave and supports from the GNWT? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Committee takes note of the request to allow for sufficient time for meaningful consultation and engagement. Committee will review its public engagement processes to ensure timelines are respectful and sufficient for stakeholders to support meaningful consultation.

Further, committee makes the following recommendation.

The Standing Committee on Social Development recommends that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College take note of this request that engagement timelines are respectful and sufficient for stakeholders to support meaningful...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before COVID, we sat as equals and set the priorities for the 19th Assembly. Even then, we recognized the shortage of resident healthcare workers and tasked the government to reduce the number of health worker vacancies and our reliance on locums.

Mr. Speaker, there is significant strength in Northerners serving Northerners, providing trauma informed care. This not only fulfills our priority, it creates sustainable succession plans and recognizes the primary role education and meaningful employment play in connecting all community health indicators. I...