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. Certainly didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves and know that I've had great conversations with the Member about this program, and also acknowledging that our buying power with our dollars these days is much different than it was before. And so previously committed to the Member to reviewing the income thresholds of the program to ensure that it is still meeting the need of seniors and also getting to the purpose of the program. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's almost as if the Member was on some of my earlier phone calls last week. So other jurisdictions are in a position where if they put an overarching piece of legislation in like that, then it goes to all their regulatory bodies. But here in the territory, some of our regulatory bodies are here in the territory and some of them are regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions that we use for some of our licensing. So an example of that would be, for example, a physiotherapist. We don't have a regulatory body here in the territory and so...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, about three minutes ago I was committed to those relationships, and I remain committed to them. I agree with the Member that those relationships are what are going to let us know how the tariffs are impacting the North, and that information is absolutely critical. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we certainly do. So ITI has multiple funding sources that can support community efforts to grow local gardens, and that includes this season. So one of our main pieces of funding, Mr. Speaker, is the sustainable Canadian agriculture partnership which we lovingly refer to as SCAP, and that is 7.6 and change -- $7.6 million and change over the next five years of the agreement to support agriculture and agro food sector of the Northwest Territories. I can also say that I was at the agro food conference before I left town last week -- or it could have been the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, right now the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is certainly watching what's happening. They've got a close working relationship with our Chambers of Commerce, industry representatives, as well as business associations in the Northwest Territories. I think it's crucial at this time that we're very open and honest about what the impacts are. We don't have an indication of doing -- or sorry, we don't have a plan right now of launching a program because I think it's really important that we see what the impacts are. There are a lot of...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We currently have 12. The first 11 are on things like our business incentive program, they're on things like our resources, like fisheries and oil, and then there's one of them that is a future one so it's not for resources today. The things that we are looking at doing resolve more around labour mobility and barriers that we have in that realm. And then the other piece, Mr. Speaker, is around regulatory harmonization. So a great example of that is the work that's currently being done at the reconciliation table around the trucking pilot, and all jurisdictions...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I think what needs to be -- there's a few things that need to be ironed out first, and that is what the future looks like before we can start allocating funding to different entities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the chairperson and president would be best positioned to speak directly to these types of pilot programs. But one of the things that I would love to share is Aurora College is always looking for new opportunities, especially for ones that will be successes in communities and that Indigenous governments are looking to put on. And so those types of conversations are best placed with the board of governors and the president because, ultimately, they want to deliver well-attended, successful programming, that is desired by the North. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that conversations have begun but they are certainly not finalized, and there is still more work to be done. Thank you.
