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.
I have had numerous conversations with constituents who have gone through different portions of treatment for addiction within the Northwest Territories and also outside of the Northwest Territories. One thing that has come up multiple times is the issue of every doctor in the territory not being able to refer somebody for an in-patient treatment facility. I am wondering if this is something that Health and Social Services is looking to change so that, regardless of the doctor who somebody sees, they are able to receive a referral for an in-patient facility.
Sorry, Mr. Speaker. I was going to share some time with my colleagues, but I'm not going to let some time stay on the clock. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. I am wondering if the Minister of Health and Social Services can let us know how many people Stanton can serve through medical detox at one time. Thank you.
One of the things that we heard identified by the Minister today was that 19 communities have access to community-based community counsellors. If a community decides, as part of achieving their action plan and to achieve their goals, that they would like to see a resident counsellor, is that something that they can work with this person to achieve? Is it something that they can work with the Department of Health and Social Services to achieve? Is there room within the Health and Social Services budget to provide additional resources to the community outside of the Anti-Poverty Fund, outside...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Every community has worked with Health and Social Services to create community wellness plans that are available on their department website. These plans not only identify the strengths of communities but also identify service gaps that communities feel exist. What role does the department play to ensure that, once a priority is set by the community, the community has the resources to achieve these goals? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 60)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Committee wishes to consider Tabled Document 286-19(2), Main Estimates 2021-2022, for Lands.
I am wondering if the Minister will commit to specifically working on the eviction protocols and policies that the LHAs and LHOs currently work with to evict people who are not paying rent or are not meeting tenancy agreements, to see where Health and Social Services can further support LHOs and LHAs to see housing success for the people of the Northwest Territories.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate that. My next question for the Minister is in regard to protocols of care for people when they present at the emergency department within the Stanton Territorial Hospital. I am wondering if there are protocols for after-care for people once they do arrive at Stanton Territorial Hospital emergency with mental health challenges and if there is a protocol for either the attending physician or the attending healthcare staff or potentially people within primary care to then reach out to that person and to provide follow-up care. Thank you.
If somebody presents at a health centre or a hospital, rather, in another community and wants to go through a medical detox process or if the nursing staff knows that this is somebody who would require medical detox, will that person be medevaced to Yellowknife in order to go through their medical detox here, or would they be able to stay in their home community to do that?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. No. Just to add to that, I appreciate that, and I think that many of the Members who serve in this House would like information on that, based on what resources are available because I think, to achieve your community wellness plan, it does not matter to a community member what funding pot it comes from, just the fact that they have access to services that are needed for the wellness, the overall wellness, of their community. Thank you.
The plans as they stand right now online, they do not have actions or targets associated with them, so I am wondering if the Department of Health and Social Services and the specific positions that the Minister identified are working with the communities to establish any types of target for actions to go with those plans so that they have something to measure against and can identify when they would like to achieve certain parts of the plan and how.
