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

Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like Newfoundland, the NWT does not offer fertility treatment in its own jurisdictions, and the travel for this can be quite expensive, and I know that the Minister did reference working with a specialist, getting approval from a specialist and travelling south. But there seems to be a bit of some gray area between what some see as being a chronic illness and what some see as being an elective process. And so it means that not everything is covered and not everybody has access to medical travel. And so is the Government of the Northwest...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have to apologize to the Minister because I'm going to ask a question that I did not provide in advance just in relation to what she said.

So the pieces of treatment that are covered, will medical travel pay for any medical travel associated to access those services because a lot of those services aren't available in the territory? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 113)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one in six Canadian couples experience infertility. The costs of fertility treatments are financially, emotionally, and physically exhausting. Most companies, policies, and initiatives focus on issues like duration of parental leave, post leave integration, and work life balance. While pregnancy and child birth are highly visible and often celebrated, fertility challenges tend to be invisible, silent, and devastating.

Some employers are working to walk the talk when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing and supporting the diverse ways...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you for that response. So that response is great news. Currently on the career's website, there are still advertisements out for some of the regions where all the vacancies have been filled, just of note to the Minister.

This past week, we celebrated here at the Legislative Assembly 15 new Indigenous counsellors that just finished their twoyear diploma program. And so I'm wondering if these brand new Indigenous counsellors will be offered CYCC positions within our schools or with the department of Health and Social Services. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I was just noting that we're two years in to the child and youth care counsellor program, and I was wondering what kind of feedback or review process Health has undertaken with schools to evaluate this program. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's always nice to have kids back in the gallery today and I would like to recognize the three pages that we have here in the gallery from Kam Lake who are Marianne Bumaat, Isha Jha, and Justin Quito. Thank you.

Applause

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2.

Bill 47 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 28th, 2022, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.

On May 10th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 47: An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act, No. 2, is ready for...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we hear in committee quite often is this desire for some more transparency around equivalencies. And this program, I praise Health and Social Services for their support of the program and their support also through the aftercare fund as well in providing people with access to that funding in order to provide employment beyond the program. But I'm wondering if Health and Social Services will increase the transparency of the equivalencies within their job descriptions so that people know what equivalencies will be accepted by...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to request that teachers be made part of that process. Some of the feedback that I'm hearing is that there's definitely a feeling of an iron wall in some instances between the teaching staff and the Health and Social Services staff. And so there is a desire to have a collaborative process of how to support students in the classroom if there is ways for teachers to better support their students.

So I'd just like to leave that there.

But I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the number of CYCC vacancies that currently exist across...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are in regards to the child and youth care counsellor program. I note that we're about just over two years in to the new way that schools are being able to bring child and youth care counsellors into their schools. And so I'm wondering if cabinet can speak to what kind of feedback or review process Health is undertaking with schools to evaluate this program and how are the CYCCs collaborating with teaching staff to provide that feedback. Thank you.