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, Mr. Speaker. While my colleague was asking questions of the Premier, I overheard an assumption that the mandate letters would be made public, and I'm wondering if the Premier can confirm whether she intends to make those public or not. Thank you.
I appreciated the question from my colleague from Inuvik Twin Lakes in regard to daycares and day homes to the Minister of Health and Social Services, and I understand that it is the responsibility of the Chief Medical Health Officer to close day homes, but I received a concerned phone call yesterday from a constituent whose day home provider in a private residence was coming back from travel and not anticipating self-isolating in her home. In that case, how is the Department of Education, Culture and Employment communicating what it means to self-isolate and who is responsible for self...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. We have a lot of university students who are still in NWT residence who are currently living outside the Northwest Territories to attend post-secondary. I am wondering how the Minister of education and his department are communicating with students whose schools may have closed and gone to online courses and who want to come home? How are they communicating their options with them? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. In regard to the Premier's comments earlier today in regard to closing schools until after Easter, does that mean that the end of the school year for NWT students will move and will be prolonged a little bit more into the summer to make up that time? Thank you.
In the case where students are expected or end up coming home, because this is progressing quickly and we don't know where we are going to be at the end of the week, if students do end up coming home early, will the department of education be looking at what they can do for students in the event that students end up with an incomplete for the year but are still on the line for student loans?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand today to first thank Health and Social Services Department and authorities staff for the endless hours they have put in to protect the North from COVID-19. In addition, I would like to thank the other departments that have worked all weekend long to ensure that we have plans in place and continuity of service. Second, I would also like to thank northern businesses who are doing their part to keep Northerners safe while trying to keep businesses running as normally as possible.
I say "normal," Mr. Speaker, but these are not normal times. While businesses and...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought you said Frame Lake. Thank you for that. My questions today are for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment. My first question today is: did Education, Culture and Employment recently hire an arts curriculum advisor? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I spoke about mental health triage for our children. Today, I would like to focus on how we can help grow resilient children. Adolescence is a challenging time. Teens' bodies are changing as their minds are expanding. In addition to school and home pressures, teens are expected to travel the rocky roads of self-discovery and self-expression as they prepare for life after high school.
We do have NGOs like the YWCA, Rainbow Coalition of the NWT, FOXY/Smash, Northern Youth, community governments, and local sports associations working hard with volunteers to offer...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I find this a very frustrating workday, today. To be quite honest with everybody, I wish that we had been able to sit and go through every detail of the entire future of this project before we came and thought about putting dollars into it. In actual fact, I wish that this had been dealt with 20 years ago, when diamond mines were at their height. Maybe the diamond mines would have actually paid for a lot more of our infrastructure if we had made that part of the deal. However, we can't go back. We can only go forward.
In regard to communicating that information, once it is available, to business owners, how does the Department of Finance plan to get that information out?
