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 23)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. For the following year, would we expect to see the same type of a budget line item for here, then? It would be consistent within that, kind of, $365,000 mark? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I was happy to hear the Minister just now speak of SEED funding, and I'd like to take that a step further with her today.
Mr. Speaker, our NWT businesses need aggressive, innovative stimulus programs and an influx of cash so they can start the long journey of regenerating our northern economy. I was pleased to hear that ITI has topped up its SEED program by $140,000, to $4 million, to support new, innovative proposals that reflect the realities of the post-COVID-19 economy.
The program guidelines provide that funding should support forward-looking business proposals aimed...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 23)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Maybe the Minister can just help me with the process here a little bit. Does it have to come to AOC before it goes online, and then, as soon as AOC sees it, does it immediately become online and available to the public? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 23)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, I don't think it needs to be a new line item. I think that Health and Social Services has a really strong communication team who does a lot of great work. I think that this is something that we can just simply ask them to highlight in communities right now, given that people probably do need additional support in the home; not a new line item. My next question is in regard to with long-term facilities, I see that there is not a line item for languages here. Would language requirements or language needs within long-term care facilities be involved here, or...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 23)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My first question is in regard to the respite fund under contributions. We have a lot of people in the Northwest Territories right now who are spending an unprecedented amount of time at home with people who require a lot of care, whether that's children with disabilities or adults with disabilities. Especially with people who are used to sharing the care of loved ones, now that everybody is at home, the need for respite care, I think, is probably greater than it was before, to be able to have that support in the home. Does the Department of Health and Social...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. On March 20th, the GNWT announced a $13.2 million economic relief package for NWT businesses. This plan committed the GNWT to creating a business advisory council. This council has turned into a bit of a hurry-and-wait exercise for businesses that really want an opportunity to provide some feedback. Will the Minister make a commitment that the membership, meeting schedule, and terms of reference of the business advisory council be made public during this sitting? Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Should this be made public, which I hope it will be, is there an appeal process that the department has thought about, for if members of the business community would like to be able to be more readily involved or would like to be able to provide feedback to the terms of reference? Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, it has not been lost on me that, had this pandemic occurred a year ago, I would have been amongst those northern business owners facing little option for financial support and the threat of closing my business.
Being a business owner in the North is a challenge. In the wake of this pandemic, our small-to-medium business owners are struggling to keep staff on payroll while incurring close to no billable hours. The federal Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy does not subsidize related employees. This means that, in the North, where so many of us are family, many northern businesses don't...
