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, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I always like to do my best to answer questions, but I simply don't have the level of detail about how particular dollars are calculated for each family and how their children are calculated in that. I'd be really happy to get that information from the department and to be able to share that with the Member. So if the Member is willing to either do a written question in the House so that that can be shared widely or, if the Member would prefer, I can correspond by email in regards to the finer details of that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Government of the Northwest Territories is committed to revitalizing the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery. The Northwest Territories has a long history of commercial fishing. From the 1950s to the 1990s, production varied between 750,000 to 2 million kilograms per year. But, in the last twenty years, production has declined due to several factors that reduced fishers' income while the cost of fishing went up. To reverse this decline, in 2017 the Government of the Northwest Territories released a strategy for revitalizing the Great Slave Lake...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm absolutely committed to being as transparent as possible and to ensuring that I'm working with the sector so that we're working together to create the number of spaces that are actually needed. And so as long as there's no information that would breach anybody's privacy, I'm happy to share information with the NWT Early Childhood Association. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hope that any public servant that answers the phone is willing to field questions from the person on the other end of that phone. I know that, you know, paperwork can be intimidating and there can be a lot of it, and so I would hope that employers would be able to communicate what their needs are and staff of the public service would be able to let them know what they can do to support them, but this is definitely a tricky realm where it includes a lot of work from the federal government as well to make this happen. I know that there are...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are like many jurisdictions across the country where we are relying on Canadian newcomers to help fill some of our employment gaps in our territory. Over the course of the so far this year, I asked for engagement to take place to see what people, including employers, wanted to see as far as immigration and an extended immigration strategy. So right now we are compiling that information to see how we can work with employers to better serve them. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that I'm definitely concerned, which is why I'm putting effort into creating a relationship and sustaining a relationship with the NWT Early Childhood Association. I really want to make sure that we're hearing their concerns, that we are doing our best to respond to them within the budget that we do have. And we do have a fixed budget within this program. ECE is a major funding source for licensed programs. So I really hope that we can keep everybody together and working together in order to rebuild or to build a robust system because I...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, no, the GNWT does not intend to take over operation of licensed programs and nor do I think it's really needed at this point. ECE is committed to providing sustainable funding, and I am committed to the relationship with child care providers and finding out what it is that they need and how we can support one another. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, while changes are currently rolling out in real time, there's also more changes to come, and so the intent is that with this new position and the work that they're doing, that ECE will be in a position to communicate some of these changes in the next fiscal year and to be able to meet with existing and developing artists and to find out what their goals are and how different funding that's available can support that. And so I hear what the Member is saying, and I think the Member is one step ahead of ECE but ECE is happily working to catch up to...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 9)
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have some pretty cool people that live in Kam Lake, and I'd like to welcome to the gallery today. Inemesit Graham, Lena Larson and Caroline Blondin Hall.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following two documents: Education Accountability Framework - South Slave Divisional Education Council Operating Plan for the 20232024 School Year; and, Annual Reports for the Education Bodies of the Northwest Territories for the School Year Ending June 30th, 2023, Volumes 1 and 2. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
