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.
Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories declare the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in child and family services a crisis and develop a whole of government response in partnership with Indigenous governments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on December 7th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.
On March 24th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Justice and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill. Committee received no submissions on this bill. I thank the committee for their efforts in reviewing this legislation. Individual Members may have comments or questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its Report on review of Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act and commend it to the House.
Bill 39: An Act to Amend the Post-Secondary Education Act (Bill 39) was first introduced by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment on November 24, 2021, and then referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.
The Department proposed changes to the Northwest Territories' Post-Secondary Education Act that would add details on quality...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when we look at the population growth numbers for the territory, we're not a territory that's growing. I know that the Yukon and both Nunavut have seen growth in their territorial population numbers. Here in the NWT, we have not seen the same success.
And while I understand that there are there is work, sorry, going on within Health for recruitment, I laid out four different suggestions today as to how we can be very proactive as far as increasing our labour pool, increasing our population here in the territory. And I while I understand that we...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final question is in regards to the OAG report. And the OAG report that came out near the beginning of our term stipulated that ECE must change the way that it's collecting data. And the example of that was the reporting of graduation rates.
Improved data collection analysis and reporting and better use of data can increase equity, improve student achievement and outcomes, and improves decisionmaking as well so that it's evidencedbased decisionmaking.
So I'm wondering, do the changes to data collection and data analysis extend to identify and...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and thank you for that response from the Minister.
My second question is in regards to the action item develop greater integration of services for children and youth in the education system through expanding regional capacity. This action item has also been delayed, and I'm noting that it also includes explore regional approaches to expand the current capacity of the territorialbased support team and identify a pilot or a demonstration site for the model to be deployed and evaluated. So when is this work expected to be completed? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if a licensed day home chooses not to opt in to this new childcare agreement, if a parent can switch their child to a new licensed childcare provider and still receive the retroactive subsidy from their new childcare provider. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that commitment from the Minister.
My second question is that the cost of living has gone up everywhere, including the cost of fuel and food as of late. As such, some businesses are having to increase the cost of their services. And so I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to what are the rules around increasing the cost of childcare now that the average rates have been set in the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 109)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. My questions in regards to housing and funding were asked and answered by my colleague so I won't ask them again. Thank you.
