Member Kam Lake

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.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Extension
11124
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, it was curriculum -- essentially curriculum development dollars for Aurora College. It was dollars that had been previously afforded through a federal agreement, I believe, with CIRNAC. Those dollars had sunset. The college then approached Regular Members letting them know that they wanted that funding reinstated. I believe the previous funding was to the tune of about $534,000, and then Regular Members put back in about 500 -- well, not about -- exactly $500,000. Regular Members were the ones that negotiated that and really fought for it, and...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, as always I appreciate the words of the Member, and they're words that I definitely take to heart. There is certainly -- while there's work being done, there's certainly more work to do, and there are complex needs across the territory and certainly working with my colleague over at the Department of Health and Social Services to address some of those needs, especially when it comes to therapeutic care and ensuring accessibility of education in the North. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, as I've said multiple times in the House -- and I think it's really important to say again -- that there is absolutely no way for us to design a program that would have satisfied everybody in the territory who wanted to be a part of it. I am very sensitive to that. I am very empathetic to that. There's no way for us, with 150 allocations, to meet a demand that is far greater than that. And so there's no way for -- I knew there was going to be no way for us to launch a program that was going to be perfect in everyone's eyes.

I take full...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, the $750 is monthly from September through April.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I think it's worth saying that one of the things that I really like about this Assembly is that we're using our business plans more as living documents and reevaluating them year after year. And so certainly, you know, as the Member stated that he had pointed out last year wanting to see targets added in, the comments of the Member are certainly being taken into account here today.

In regards to the number itself and what the goal is, certainly at face value here the number is to see more students accessing post-secondary. I think what you...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

I look forward to the presentation as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, if I understand correctly, the Member is asking for updates on how students access post-secondary from high school within their communities. And so one of the things that the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has is career education advisors, and those career education advisors fill a very important role within our community schools right across the territory. And so they actually work with youth on a one-on-one basis to understand what their career goals are and what it is that they would like to do and ensure that students...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Well, certainly, no program from the GNWT launches itself. There's always a concerted effort behind it, Madam Chair. It was end of day back in January when we learned of a drastic cut to our allocation numbers of the nominee program from the federal government. Unfortunately for the deputy minister, he's been very gracious in giving me his contact numbers, so I was immediately on the phone with him. I asked for the program to be immediately paused. That was a political decision. I did not feel that we could in good faith launch a program within 12 hours that it's so drastically changed...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So, Madam Chair, the Education Act was amended in 2013 to include a definition of bullying, establish safe school regulations, which include the territorial school code of conduct and a requirement that education bodies ensure the development of safe school plans. It is worth adding in here that in 2022-2023 school year, a safe and caring school subcommittee was established under the authority of the deputy minister of Education, Culture And Employment, and ECE meets with representatives from education bodies annually to discuss implementation of the safe...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So absolutely, Madam Chair, the Member is right, there is a significant increase to the investment from 44 -- sorry, in 2024-2025, it was $43.8 million, and now it's $44.6 million there for income assistance in that line item. The actuals were lower in 2023-2024, and that was because of the delayed implementation of the new program. So the increase that you see there is just under a million dollars from main estimate to main estimate comparing those, and that is from the -- the Member is right, it is from the new program. And the other increases that you see...