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 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I am wondering if, from the perspective of the Department of Finance, why it is important that the NWT Housing Corporation be a corporation? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I do have some suggestions for different Ministers for later this week that I will work through with them as the week goes on. I will say that, without the policy and the process in each department, in order to essentially force it, it's not going to happen. Unless each department sets up policies and processes that give them cross-reference to be able to talk together and empowers their public servants to work together, it's just not going to happen. It's not just a matter of saying to people, "Talk to one another," because their job descriptions and their...
[Translation] It is the government's responsibility to ensure its program and services are accessible to the people it serves. [Translation ends]
The GNWT spends millions on programs and services, but they are not accessible to the people who need them, and people are falling through the cracks. 2020 was a challenging year. Yes, Northerners are resilient, but Northerners have been fighting the social challenges highlighted by 2020 for a long time.
For many, life feels like an exhausting game of snakes and ladders where every roll lands them farther down the game board. We live in a territory...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Two of the line items in here under the grants section are the aviation sector support and the wage top-up, both of which were very well received from the business community. I know that they were both received as contributions from the federal government, and I am wondering if the Department of Finance is talking with the federal government to continue that, given that, one, aviation isn't going to continue, and two, for the wage top-up, the wages that people are receiving, topping them up to $18 an hour is a bare minimum of something that we need to be doing...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Are there any budgetary requirements for this fiscal year for that program to be able to roll out? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, I appreciate that. I think that travel within the NWT is very important to continuing business with the people of the Northwest Territories, but I think it's also important that we make sure that, if the remaining 20 percent is not being spent, it is spent on things that are important to the people of the Northwest Territories.
My next question I am going to ask to the directorate section, even though it has to do with, again, all divisions of the Department of Finance. I note that the Department of Finance and specifically human resources is tasked with...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. The increases to the NWT Housing Corporation really are quite exciting ones, because they have to do with the co-investment fund, which we on this side of the House are very happy to see. Outside of the influx of money for the co-investment fund, does the Minister foresee increases to the Housing Corporation contribution beyond that? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. There is a contribution here to the NWT Housing Corporation, and I am wondering if the Department of Finance has begun conversations about converting the NWT Housing Corporation to a regular GNWT department? Thank you.
I appreciate that people have job descriptions, and I will say that every single person that we came across fulfilled their job description. They fulfilled the mandate of their department. That's what they intended to do and what they are supposed to do. People aren't boxes, and they don't fit into boxes. People's challenges in life extend beyond one single box of one mandate in one department. When somebody presents with a challenge with housing, it quite often is not simply a matter of a housing issue. When somebody presents with a challenge of income security, it is not solely a challenge...
