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 161)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My apologies for being cut off. My computer is hanging on by a thread these days. And I appreciate all of the questions that my colleagues have asked. I've had a lot of my questions answered, and I really appreciate the responses we've received as well.
One of the questions that I really want to focus in on is whether or not the efforts that have happened within municipalities are included in this $75 million as far as fire suppression is concerned. I mean, we saw in multiple communities, private industry really showing up for all of our communities and, you...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 161)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I know that the Member for Yellowknife North kind of alluded to some review of kind of this fire season and even the evacuation, and I know that that's something that will probably be discussed in detail in our September sitting, but can the Minister kind of indicate if that is an intent of the GNWT following this very huge fire season? Thank you. Both from the evacuation standpoint and also the fire suppression standpoint. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to repeat a lot of what I've said during Committee of the Whole. I agree wholeheartedly with what my colleague from Frame Lake has said here today. My biggest concern right now as well is with residents who are currently evacuated, with businesses that are currently struggling while they're being evacuated, and with the businesses that are back home that are doing the work on the frontline right now. It's not lost on me that a lot of my constituents in Yellowknife are essential workers who are currently working on the frontline in...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, before we move on, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank both the mover and the seconder for bringing this forward. I think that this is a really important conversation to be had, and I appreciate when people use private Member's bills in order to move things that they are passionate about and that are important to the people of the Northwest Territories. I wanted to just thank the Member for Monfwi for bringing this forward. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I appreciate that. And can the Minister then confirm that municipalities will not be on the hook for expenses related to this forest firefighting effort or this wildfire fighting effort. My concern is that the cost of living in the territory is already incredibly high and that municipalities bearing the brunt of these costs will, in turn, actually just be passed on to residents through the form of taxes. And so I just want to make sure that we have a common understanding that these are not expenses that will be incurred and expected to be paid for by...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 161)
Absolutely, thank you. No, the Member for Yellowknife North alluded to doing a review of both this fire suppression season and also the evacuation, and I know that that's going to be a heavy topic probably in September if we do end up sitting in September but I'm wondering if there is any kind of commitment that could be made here today that that is work that will be done. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 161)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I do have some general comments, and I'm going to start just by saying that I was quite surprised to see that this supplemental appropriation was specific to ECE and did not include Finance and ITI. Just from I'm currently sitting here in session today from the city of Edmonton, which has gone above and beyond to try to support residents, and I have to say a huge shout out to city councillors as well that have been working closely with MLAs, to try and help out people as best they can. But right now where I sit, a lot of residents have paid out...
