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, Madam Chair. Sitting on the Standing Committee for Social Development, we definitely get to spend a lot of time with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment because they do have a lot of legislative initiatives that they are working on. There are a lot that we are also anticipating, seeing one of which was the Education Act. Does the addition of one staff give them the human resources that they need to push this work forward? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I see that there's one additional staff member for corporate management. Can the Minister inform us as to where that staff member is going?
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Thank you very much, Madam I can't see I don't have a light anymore so I can't oh, okay, there we go. Thank you. Not sure what light I was looking for. Thank you very much. And my apologies to the interpreters for jumping the gun there.
And I appreciate that the government is going currently back to the feds to work on some agreements for those charging stations. I do note that the investment in energy section of the main estimates has come down by about $4 million. Looking on the next page, I see that that's from the reductions to the Low Carbon Leadership Economy Fund. And the concern...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, I think I'm I think I'm I think I'm good. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Further to that line of questioning, I see here there's nothing budgeted for 20222023. Are there no ongoing costs for the Tulita Solar Project? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Building infrastructure in the NWT is very, very expensive, and childcare facilities are not immune to the costs of building. And so I know that using existing structures, infrastructure, especially in smaller communities, is key. So I'm wondering if the Minister knows if the policy work to be able to run licensed day homes out of public housing has been completed? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My next question is in regards to utilities found on the same page. I notice that utilities is not seeing an increase in the 20222023 Main Estimates. And given the increase that we have seen in all costs, especially utility costs, I'm wondering why there's no increase to that line item for the 20222023 Main Estimates? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's response. I've taken a look at the community wellness plans, and they range from anywhere from three pages to some are 20 plus pages. So they are very different, depending on what community that they come from. Also taking a look through them, I've noticed that not every plan contains mental health as a community wellness priority, for example. And while I know that perhaps there are competing priorities within communities, mental health and mental wellness is definitely a priority across the board for every single...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the municipal funding gap is something that you hear all Members talk about. And one thing I think that we can all agree is there's huge gains to be made by closing that gap from a community level. I'm wondering if the government will commit or when the government will commit to providing committee with a draft plan to reduce and address the municipal funding gap once and for all? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week a colleague of mine tabled written questions in regards to the municipal funding gap specifically asking for the status of that gap and specifically also by community.
I'm wondering if the Minister responsible will commit to tabling actuals of the funding gap on an annual basis by community as this is a question that has come up annually since our term has begun. Thank you.
