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.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to have the discussion. My next question is: do the long-range housing plans currently done by the Housing Corporation account for the changing demographics of an aging population in each community in the NWT, especially as it relates to women, women with children, people with disabilities, and elders?
This is a great beginning. We must work across all levels of government, all sectors and NGOs, to tell a new story of dwelling in this land. We need robust funded plans to achieve it, through integrated community land use stewardship, community renewable energy plans, housing and community wellness metrics, and reconciliation planning, with our whole social system engaged at the table, facing new issues in a new way. We need to start measuring what matters. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yellowknife housing is becoming ever less affordable. How will the Minister improve the affordability of housing in Yellowknife over the course of the 19th Legislative Assembly? Thank you.
I'm wondering if the current housing plans for the NWT Housing Corporation include the changing demographics of our population, particularly age, and also as it relates to women, women with children, people with disabilities, and elders?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Long-range energy plans, community land use, and community wellness plans are completed independently, as are economic development and resource management strategies. Will the Minister commit to working with her colleagues to bring these planning exercises together and complete all communities within the 19th Legislative Assembly? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, for the last 40 years, Canadians have determined core housing needs based on adequacy, suitability, and affordability. Core housing refers to a national set of measures developed in collaboration with the United States. Based on core housing metrics, in 2019, over 50 percent of housing in small communities required major repairs; and in Yellowknife, our greatest challenge was affordability. One in three Yellowknifers are spending more than 30 percent of their household income on housing costs. Over 900 people are currently on the waitlist for public housing across the NWT.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There still seem to be many questions on the minds of Northerners, including my constituents and the students of Aurora College. Would the Premier please clarify how she was able to dismiss the president of Aurora College without having a statutory authority to do so laid out in the Aurora College Act? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. During our December sitting, I was pleased when the Minister of Finance affirmed her commitment to the modernization of a Public Service Act. I am wondering if the Minister could please provide us with an update. Thank you.
