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 10)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I completely agree with the Minister that it is an essential part of the recovery to have somewhere to go to when you are done your treatment. I think if we ended up polling our communities, we would find that 33 communities would identify that they need transitional housing, so I guess I am wondering: if the need is there in all 33 of our communities, how are we going to decide where to distribute nine units? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a few questions on this page. I will start maybe right in the middle. In the second section, under "How we will do it," it reads, "Establish medical detox and managed alcohol programming." I am wondering if the Premier can speak to where Cabinet sees those being located, if they will be central to Yellowknife, or if these services will also be available in the communities across Northwest Territories? 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.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to echo what my colleague the MLA from Yellowknife North just said in terms of being able to hire retired nurses. I, too, have spoken to a lot of retired nurses who have literally walked out the door and then been told that, if they want to be able to work casual shifts here and there when we are desperate for nurses, that they would do that. Then they have been told that they have to come in and compete in an interview process, and they are just not prepared to do that when they have literally walked out the door. There are people in town who have...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)
Thank you for that. My next question is: it is actually the very last line on the page, "Reduce wait times for access to treatment centres." Sorry, to treatment, we'll just call it "treatment" right across the board. It is my understanding that we are going back out for RFP later this year for our treatment facilities. I am just wondering why reducing the wait times has a timeline of the very end of our term, if that is something that we have the ability to have an effect on this?
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)
Thank you, Madam Chair. My next question is in the same section. In the last column, it reads, "nine transitional housing units added in several communities." I am wondering how Cabinet will decide where those transitional housing units will be located? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Finance. As the Government of the Northwest Territories works to modernize the Public Service Act, what is the process for consulting key stakeholders, such as the Union of Northern Workers and the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On the Housing Corporation website, I found a presentation that was delivered by the Housing Corporation president, called the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and NWT Housing Corporation. The presentation explained the co-investment fund to stakeholders and advised that the federal government would contribute 75 percent and we would contribute 25. Slide 4 of the presentation indicated that the Housing Corporation would help prepare applications. Would the Housing Corporation be prepared to help the women's society resubmit this application?
