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 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Hypothetically speaking, if we end up with multiple very bad fire seasons in a row, if we are incapable of increasing our borrowing limit from the federal government, how do we continue to be able to protect the NWT from bad fire seasons, given that we are at the top limit of our borrowing capacity? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you, Madam Chair. We've seen some local retailers stop using plastic bags on their own accord and have just gone to reusing cardboard boxes or just insisting that the only option for people is to bring their own bag. In terms of the single-use plastic bags, is that something that our government would like to jump on sooner rather than later, and work with retailers to end that practice? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. How has ENR leveraged the on-the-ground expertise of different private businesses in order to help solve some of the landfill challenges in some of our remote communities? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Transportation plays a large role in the Northwest Territories when it comes to taking care of our land and our environment, and we have both trucks that come into our communities that are road-accessible, that come in generally full and leave empty. We also have MTS, which barges in product to our communities, and sometimes leaves empty.
Does ENR currently work with Infrastructure to see how we can make sure that we are leveraging these transportation means effectively, to make sure that nothing is going back empty and to also make sure, if there is potential...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Is that strategy specific to this project as a pilot right now, or is it a blanket strategy that will apply to all procurement contracts that go out from the GNWT going forward? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table "Virtual Care, Recommendations for Scaling Up Virtual Medical Services, Report of the Virtual Care Task Force, February 2020." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Does the Department of Health and Social Services have, or will it be developing, a virtual care strategy so that Northerners can have a clear understanding of the GNWT's view on its future role with Northwest Territories' healthcare system? Thank you.
I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to what the top three reasons for the increase to medical travel costs are.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I guess I was looking for our worst-case scenario, rainy-day scenario, but within the forest management budget, most line items are going up, and there is one notable line item that has come down; it's materials and supplies. I'm wondering if -- oh, sorry, that's purchase services. I'm wondering if the Minister can actually speak to why that line item has come down substantially. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, medical travel is a necessity of life in the North. The prohibitive cost of delivering all services to all 33 NWT communities, paired with the global shortage of healthcare workers, requires Northerners to travel to larger centres to receive specialized care.
Virtual care, specifically Telehealth, has been part of our northern care landscape for decades, helping the North increase client access and reduce costs to our healthcare system. Canada was an early driver of virtual care, but quickly fell behind other nations. Given our growing medical travel costs and the spectre of...
