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 108)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. My next question is in regards to the second piece of this priority, which is work with private sector and Indigenous governments to improve the availability of private market and housing options.
We've heard a lot about increases to public housing options in order to address the waitlist, and then we've also heard, especially even in the sitting of the Assembly, how the availability of private market rentals has had an impact on the ability of, even specifically the Minister of Health and Social Services, to fill vacancies in communities, specifically Behchoko...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a decade ago the Supreme Court of Canada released a unanimous decision recognizing that learning to read is not a privilege but a basic and essential human right when it found that a BC student had a right to receive the intensive supports and interventions they need to learn to read. This year the Ontario Human Rights Commission released the right to read inquiry report on human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities calling for critical changes to Ontario's approach to early reading and curriculum and instruction screening, reading...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 108)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the commitment of pursuing additional funding that the 19th Assembly can also secure for the 20th Assembly as well. I think that's really important to keep that narrative of housing going and the pursuit of access to safe and secure housing for all Northerners going.
My next comment that I wanted to make in regards to that one is that that first piece of work with partners, including the federal and Indigenous governments to increase funding for housing programs, to me housing programs are completely different than the coinvestment fund...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 108)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, currently I'm in the line item of work with partners including the federal/Indigenous governments to increase funding for housing programs. It is marked as fulfilled.
Given that this is something that the Housing portfolio is constantly working on and that we don't want to lose sight of, I'm wondering if the Premier will commit to changing the status of that to ongoing so that we are consistently looking for additional funding opportunities. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act.
Bill 41 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on December 7th, 2021, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development. On March 24th, 2022, the standing committee held a public hearing with the Minister of Justice and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 41: Justice Administration Statutes Amendment Act is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 39: An Act to Amend the PostSecondary Education Act.
Bill 39 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on November 25th, 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 Education, Culture and Employment, and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 39: An Act to Amend the PostSecondary Education Act is ready for consideration...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate the Minister's comment. Some of the problem, though, is that without the service standards, some people aren't receiving that phone call back or that email back to let them know that it's going to be a year or a year and a half or two years before a student receives services. So the schools are really unable to make alternate arrangements or alternate plans for the care and the learning and development of that student.
And so will the Minister commit, then, to response service standards for school professionals so that NTHSSA is committing to...
