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.
Recognizing COVID's negative impacts on mental health and family dynamics, has this government put any special measures in place to assist women who are experiencing family violence during the middle of the pandemic?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS Section 61 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act permits the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner by the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories after the approval of the appointment by the resolution of the Legislative Assembly;
AND WHEREAS the Legislative Assembly considers the appointment of an Information and Privacy Commissioner essential to exercise the powers and perform the duties under the Act;
AND WHEREAS the term of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is expiring;
I am happy to hear that the Minister will be sitting down with the federal Minister for CMHC in order to discuss the Rapid Housing Initiative. I think it's really important, and I think that it's important that everybody in this House support the Housing Corporation and make sure that they have the resources that they need in order to be successful in putting housing on the ground. With that in mind, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of housing please allocate a member of the Housing Corporation today to be the champion of the Rapid Housing Initiative?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The $1-billion Rapid Housing Initiative, which is complementary to the National Housing Strategy, was announced in September this year, and the applications are due at the end of this year, on December 31st. This is barely two months away, Mr. Speaker, and this makes me quite nervous, especially when I hear the Minister for the Housing Corporation talking to a colleague of mine about hoping to have the advisor person for the co-investment fund in place by the end of November. This does not leave somebody who is just potentially coming into the GNWT, coming into the...
Thank you very much for that, Madam Chair. No. That helps a lot, and I think now I'm on the same page. I guess this is the place, then, where I would say that my expectation is to open the main estimates come February and to see a very large, large, substantial line item for the co-investment fund, and $1.2 million is not going to cut it. It won't give the Minister the money that she will require in order to fully draw down on the co-investment fund and to support applications that are coming in the door. I hope that the Minister's colleagues are also hearing me, that this Minister needs...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you to the Minister and Mr. Williams for answering that. I think it's a really important number to have on the record here for Northerners. I think it's really important for us to understand that we can't afford to leave any money on the table. If the feds are willing to give us money, then we need to be able to do what we can to access that money. At the 19th Assembly, we also need to support one another on both sides of the House to make sure that that money's ending up in these budgets so that it's available for the Housing Corporation to turn...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. WHEREAS Section 23(1) of the Human Rights Act provides the Commissioner on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly shall appoint an Executive Director of Human Rights to carry out the responsibilities set out in the Act,
AND WHEREAS the Board of Management is tasked with recommending an individual to the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Assembly is prepared to make a recommendation to the Commissioner;
NOW THEREFORE I MOVE, seconded by the Honourable Member for Sahtu, that the Legislative Assembly recommends the appointment of Ms. Nicole MacNeil of...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I am tempted to try to put my remaining three questions into one, but I don't want to get in trouble, so I am going to pick one. What I would like to know is: has the Housing Corporation been able to reach out to any of the potential partners that would be involved in the rapid rehousing initiative? One of those key ones would be that the Rapid Housing Initiative favours applications that have received financial supports from municipalities, like in the form of property tax or permitting-fee waivers. I am wondering if the Housing Corporation has had the...
I really want the Minister to see great success from these different federal housing initiatives. For this Rapid Housing Initiative, not the co-investment fund but for this Rapid Housing Initiative, will the Minister allocate an existing staff member from the Housing Corporation to do the application process, starting right away?
Mr. Speaker, in September, the federal government launched the Rapid Housing Initiative, a $1-billion program to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians through the rapid construction of affordable housing in partnership with municipal and territorial governments, Indigenous governments, and non-profit organizations. Unfortunately, Cabinet has not updated this House about this new funding opportunity, so I will.
The initiative will support up to 3,000 new permanent, affordable housing units across Canada and cover the construction of modular housing, the acquisition of land...
