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. 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...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Further to my colleague's questions, if we do have a bad fire season, and it is our responsibility to pay for it, and we blow this budget, how do we end up paying for a bad fire season at the end of the day? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I guess more of a comment. There are definitely businesses within the North that want to be able to share knowledge and expertise with communities and see the value of making sure that we're all as green as we possibly can be, and so there are people out there who would really like to be able to participate in stuff like this. My last question is in regard to banning single-use plastics and how the federal government has a goal of attaining that by 2021. I'm wondering where we are as a government to be able to achieve that alongside the federal government...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you. Is making sure that we're using trucks that are coming into communities, to the best of our ability, to make sure that we don't have vehicles that are coming in for government purposes, leaving empty, are we leveraging that medium, as well? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Is the intent, then, to also be able to implement policies and legislation that not only hold our contractors to account, but also hold our own practices within the GNWT to account as well? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 16)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'm going to switch over to waste management now on the same page. Currently, the NWT has one of the highest per capita waste disposal in the country, and so, I think having this conversation is a very important one, especially where a lot of the waste in our smaller communities is generated by either the government or government projects, but especially through construction waste. I'm wondering if ENR currently works with other departments to make waste management part of their procurement practises. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services on the provision of virtual care in the Northwest Territories. What does the Department of Health and Social Services consider to be the solutions to the barriers identified in the report by the Virtual Care Task Force Report, specifically Interoperability and Governance, Licensure and Quality of Care, Payment Models, and Medical Education, and:
What is the business case for increasing availability of virtual care in the Northwest Territories?
Will the Department of Health and Social Services develop either a...
