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.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. This year, I am sure we will see differences in the actuals of departments versus what they had originally budgeted for, especially, for example, in the area of or the line item of travel. Public servants are not travelling as much as they probably anticipated that they would. Conversely, other departments are going to have much higher line items. For example, Health and Social Services is a great example of that. They are doing a lot more rapid testing and investing in areas that they did not anticipate having to invest in. What I am wondering is: what...
I am happy to hear that because, although, yes, things like medical travel are absolutely a requirement for the government to help out with, there is some misuse of the isolation centres happening and it is an expense that is just really unaffordable for the people of the Northwest Territories. I did hear the Minister responsible for the COVID secretariat speak a little on contracting out services, and I'd like to find out more information about what the COVID secretariat is looking at contracting out to local businesses around the Northwest Territories. This not only increases the GDP in the...
Mr. Speaker, the majority of my constituents supported the swift responses of the Chief Public Health Officer that prioritized our safety in the face of a largely unknown virus. Today, we know more and know that our responses need to be sustainable, as COVID-19 has no end date. My constituents are becoming increasingly frustrated as COVID cases surge in the South and our COVID communications and policy implementation still struggle. The announcement of the COVID secretariat wasn't well-received. We've been told there are 150 staff members, most of whom are GNWT employees on transfer...
I was happy to hear from the Minister responsible for the COVID secretariat that there is an effort being made to contract services and supplies from northern businesses. What I would like to just stress to the Minister responsible is perhaps also finding ways to use our businesses involved in manufacturing in the Northwest Territories and making sure that they have the opportunity to bid on any form of a contract that comes through.
My next question is in regard to policies. I hear frequently from constituents, and probably the thing that they are most frustrated about is inconsistencies or...
Mr. Speaker, the third set of questions is for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. According to the Northwest Territories Bureau of Statistics, 42.7 percent of Northwest Territories homes are in need of at least one major repair, and Government of the Northwest Territories major home repair funding programs require applicant homeowners to have homeowners' insurance, but, because of the remote location and limited services available in most northern communities, residents do not qualify for homeowners' insurance.
A standing barrier to providing virtual care is the barrier created by differential licensing requirements which the Minister touched on, and there's different requirements straight across Canada. What work is being done to simplify the registration and licensor processes to enable qualified physicians or healthcare providers to provide virtual care across provincial and territorial boundaries?
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In March of this year, I asked the then-Minister of Health and Social Services about virtual care in the Northwest Territories. Since then, the GNWT has put together a three-phased approach to virtual care to address healthcare needs in the face of a global pandemic. In regards to the advances that were made through the COVID-19 pandemic as far as virtual care is concerned, I would like to see the changes and advances that were made continue their momentum. I'm wondering: for phase two, the virtual care initiative identified a need to create secure messaging...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the things we hear quite often in this House and also within committee work is the need for cultural sensitivity straight across the North in all the work that we do. I'm wondering: how is the GNWT working to ensure that the cultural, technological, and language needs of all NWT residents are being met through virtual care?
