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. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am quite confident that I'm quite confident in the work of the communications staff at the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. You know, I hope that they won't be judged on that one incident because there have been a tremendous amount of success stories that have come out of that office, and they work very hard. They have done a lot of beautiful work on behalf of the department and have been wellresourced to be able to do that. They are a team that works exceptionally hard and takes great pride in the work that they do and the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is asking what we previously track. And so as I'm saying that this is a new program and so going forward, we're going to have the opportunity to look at a lot more data and see what is going on. But that's not information that I have at my fingertips to be able to provide the Member right now. But I very much look forward to being able to tell the story of what this new program is doing for NWT residents and to be able to talk about those success stories. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, culture and languages have traditionally been well, languages, for sure, have traditionally been within the division that serves our JK to 12 education as well. And as you can imagine, they are both large subject matters and equally as important as the other. And so the intent there was to really pull culture and languages out of that division and provide it with its own necessary spotlight to make sure that it has all of the resources that we can provide it to be able to continue to grow that area because it is a critical part not only to education...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the department used to track productive choices when it had it as a requirement under the program, but it is not a requirement under the program anymore. If the Member had an interest in seeing the historical data on productive choices, I could definitely work with the Member to pull some of that information. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this is work that we will be doing in conjunction with other departments. And we definitely, as far as income or ISD, rather, is concerned or not, the lead on that, and so it requires some collaboration on our part, but we definitely saw it as being important enough to make sure that it was included in the business plans right off the bat. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can absolutely commit to doing the annual report with income assistance. And I also just want to reiterate that part of the new program is also doing a performance management plan as well to ensure that we know how the new program is working and that we know how it is serving residents as well. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, when looking at the priorities of this entire Assembly, each department was tasked with seeing themselves in all of our priorities. And so for starters, with our looking for available land, we are specifically looking for is there ways that we can contribute to the intent to build more affordable housing in the territory. And I would also say that I am in addition to that also kind of keeping a lens on what might work well for future sites for early learning and child care centres. Thank you.
I will do my best, Mr. Speaker, and I will not just say yes, I see the value in making sure that we are serving residents where they're at and that we are reducing administrative burdens on residents as best as we can. Thank you
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the position is not already staffed. And the other thing that I think is worthwhile adding in is I do have an assistant deputy minister of trades. Trades are very important, and he is waiting in the back room. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, if somebody qualifies for income assistance and they do not have a fixed address and they are, you know, living on the land, absolutely go and speak with your client navigator and make sure that you have that conversation with them and that you are able to apply with them. It would, again, be the same response from the first question, which is that absolutely, people can access income assistance outside of their home community. They do not need a fixed address in order to access income assistance, and that if somebody qualifies, I absolutely...
