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. 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.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice. I've had an increase in enquiries within my constituency in regard to options for people who are in domestic violence situations. I would like to know who the lead department within the GNWT is for domestic violence? Thank you.
Not the answer I was looking for, but I will live with it for now and hopefully won't end up putting it together on my own. My second question is in regard to the Canada-wide action plan. I am wondering how long we are prepared to wait for information from Canada to come. Do we have a threshold of when we are going to decide to go out and create our own action plan, or will we be patient and wait for the Canada-wide one? I am wondering if Cabinet has decided as a group that we are going to wait until the end of this year and then move forward with our own plan, just so that we know, on this...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I definitely appreciate that. Over the course of gathering information from multiple different departments, it took my CA and I about a month to put together all of the information and the resources that the Minister referred to that are available through the government, and that's not very useful or realistic for someone who is suffering from domestic violence. My next and final question for the Minister is: is there a plan for this Assembly to create a domestic violence action plan? Thank you.
I appreciate the response from the Minister, and I appreciate as well that she stopped herself when she said the length of this Assembly, because I think it's really important, with us having the second-highest rate of domestic violence in Canada, that we need to give this an owner right away, preferably by the end of this sitting. My next question is: will the Department of Justice, or whoever the lead department is for this, commit to putting together an information resource that we can distribute to people to let them know what their options are for the next chapter of their lives that does...
Before I was born, a baby girl was born in a town west of London, England. Her family moved to Canada, where she eventually achieved a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts in Journalism, and Master of Arts in History. Along the way, she fell in love with the North and served its people as a reporter, active volunteer, and now a two-term MLA. Sometimes we need to hear about how one person traveled from point A to point B to achieve their goal to help us chart our own path to success. Julie Green's Women on the Ballot Workshops were a significant catalyst that led me to this role.
I am wondering what the expected deadline is on that plan from that institute and if we will be able to see it on this side of the House as soon as Justice receives it.
