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 words. Earlier today, she delivered a Minister's statement in regard to prompt payment, and that's the subject that the Minister and I have been discussing at length over the course of our term. I have absolutely no doubt that the Minister is on this and will carry through, as she has already shown to me.
My next question for the Minister is: would she be able to explain some of the constitutional challenge, vulnerabilities of the policy to us today? Because I know that has been a concern of the GNWT for many years. I'm just wondering how the department feels that...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Finance in regard to the Affirmative Action Policy. My understanding is the Affirmative Action Policy last went through an official review in 1994. I am wondering what the findings of that review were and if any changes were made to the policy as a result. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as I climbed into bed late last night I had a much different statement planned for today. One last check of social media led me to a story of racism that occurred in one of our schools yesterday. Earlier this week, we heard of racial slurs directed at an NWT student during a SAlT hockey game in Calgary. In both instances, young Indigenous women courageously took a stand against the racism. Mr. Speaker, it is 2020 and this is not okay.
First, it is time for racism to be a thing of the past. Every time we hear of racial tensions in the United States, we sit back, north of the border...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Also noting the grant from Canada that's our federal transfer payment there on the top of page 134, there was a 7.9 percent increase to our federal transfer payments where our population has remained fairly stable. I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the percent increase of our federal transfer payments? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My colleague from Frame Lake had some good traction with his conversation about revenue taxes under the corporate income tax line. I am wondering if the Minister can confirm for me if small-medium businesses fall under the corporate income tax line. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just as a comment, that process might not be reflected as accurately as possible within the Liquor and Cannabis Commission's website, so maybe we could look at updating that so that it's clearer to people who are interested in pursuing that business opportunity. I am wondering when the Minister thinks that people will be able to look into opening retail stores for cannabis. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you, Madam Chair. My next question is in regard to private retailers. About a year ago, we heard conversations from the GNWT in regard to opening the market up for private retailers within the Northwest Territories. I'm wondering where we are within that conversation and how that will affect our cannabis sales that are reflected here in the main estimates. Thank you.
I am not sure if I understood if the figures would be updated on an annual basis. My next question is: what percentage of the annual $25-million funding gap does MACA anticipate will be covered by federal funding? The second part of that question is: how sustainable do we feel that relying on federal funding to cover the municipal funding gap is?
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. My first question is: two weeks ago my colleague from Nunakput asked the Minister to read the report "Focus for the Future" tabled by MACA on the last day of the last Assembly; has the Minister read the report? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)
Thank you, Madam Chair. No. I think that is really important. I think one step farther might even be to be able to remove people's names completely because we do live in a very small territory that gets smaller and smaller by the day, and we all get to know one another. If we want people to be 100 percent honest, then we need to make sure that their personal relationships on their work floors are protected in that process. That would be my one recommendation there. Thank you. No further questions.
