Caitlin Cleveland

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

Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am pleased to speak to Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act in my capacity as chair of social development.

This bill allows for the Government of the Northwest Territories to participate in a class action lawsuit filed by the government of BC to allow the GNWT to recover health care expenses incurred from opioid damages. Committee supports this legislation.

During standing committee's review of Bill 72, committee heard from Indigenous governments and community stakeholders. Committee heard that at the time BC filed the class...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act.

Bill 77 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 29, 2023 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 10th, 2023 and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 31st, 2023.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 77, Nursing Profession Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Yeah, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the problem right now is that multiple departments aren't able to work together in order to get this done. I mean, right now the Department of Health and Social Services says on its website that environmental health officers can investigate issues where a landlord has failed to take corrective action.

So I'm wondering if the Minister can tell me whether his department, or the department of health, tracks the number of landlord investigations by environmental health officers and the results of these investigations? Thank you, Mr...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions today are for the Minister of Justice.

We know that over 700 rental units have mould or pests, across the Northwest Territories, but only three tenants got an order against the landlord to fix the problem. So clearly something is not working, Mr. Speaker. I want to know whether the Minister acknowledges that the current mechanisms to ensure healthy rental housing are not working. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about environmental health concerns in rental housing and the role of government in holding landlords accountable.

Mr. Speaker, this House has heard numerous times about how too many of our constituents are facing appalling living conditions.

In October, my colleague from Tu NedheWiilideh brought up cockroach infestations in his communities. He talked about a family brought to tears when they couldn't cook Thanksgiving dinner because of cockroaches.

In November, my colleague from Great Slave brought up issues at Lanky Court, including...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, be read for the third time. And Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, just listening to the questions and comments that are happening today and I mean, the Member for Frame Lake just spent ten minutes kind of, I believe, getting to this question. And so I am wondering if we can just kind of get on the record whether or not the Minister will commit to working with the GNWT to establish a mechanism for Indigenous governments to track and recruit and report approved opioid damage costs and expenses as defined under "health care benefits" in Bill 72? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 82, Legal Profession Act.

Bill 82 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 30th, 2023 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 10th, 2023 and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 31st, 2023.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 82, Legal Profession Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 159)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think the piece that's important in that is that information making it from the environmental health office to the rental office so that the rental officer has the ability to then hold those landlords accountable. The environmental health officer doesn't have a mechanism to hold those people accountable. By looping in the rental office, by seeing if there's other issues going on with those rental offices, it brings it to a onestop shop and actually empowers the rental officer to have kind of that bird's eye view of what's going on. And so there...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 158)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, other jurisdictions have acknowledged the challenges of youth exiting government care by creating legislation, policies, and resources to directly help youth transition from care. There are some creative solutions out there that help address this. One example that I wanted to highlight in the House today is agedout.com. It's a web page dedicated to BC young adults who have aged out of government care, and I really highly recommend people take a look at it.

Even within this website, Mr. Speaker, youth can...