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 very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm currently working on this with the department. I also have slightly different information than what the Member is referring to on the floor of this House, but I can assure the Member that I am following up. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was two questions there. So to the first question, the answer is no.
To the second question who is in charge, so the DEC has the responsibility of hiring and selecting and working with the superintendent. And within the legislation, there is also a concert and it works in concert with our Public Service Act and the collective agreement under the NWTTA. So that's an important thing to consider there as well, is that there are considerations under that too. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, work like this could be done without the GNWT. The community could work with the city of Yellowknife, and the city of Yellowknife would have the ability to deem that space a recreational park and that wouldn't need GNWT involvement in order to pursue that work. So that's always an option as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have met with Yellowknife's new mayor, and at this time I can say that ITI has no plans to pursue the establishment of a territorial park on Tin Can Hill. Our North Slave region does have numerous territorial parks and that piece of legislation -- or sorry, that piece of property is currently owned by the municipality. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that we have healthy relationships across this territory. We are a small territory, and we are all very intimately connected and we all, I would like to believe, at the end of the day have the common goal of the success and prosperity of Northerners and our northern children at heart. I am using the tools that I have at my disposable, Mr. Speaker. I am listening to many of those DEA members who are also parents, listening to DEC members, and have never been in a position to not have those...
Mr. Speaker, in January 2025 Aurora College announced its plans to close community learning centres as part of its efforts to resolve low enrolment and adjust the way academic upgrading is delivered. Following that news, I heard loud and clear from Indigenous governments, communities, non-profit organizations and my colleagues in this House, that hands-on community-based learning is essential. I want to express my gratitude to all those who brought forward their concerns and their visions for the future of these centres, and for community-based education more broadly.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the act there is no indication that ECE would have to take control or possession of the remains of this person. The act, as I have indicated before, the language in it, does need to be updated. It wasn't drafted long ago under the knowledge that we would be here in this place years later. But we are here, and we are taking remedies to acknowledge that this act does need to be updated and taking steps to start that process to update this piece of legislation.
In other pieces, for example in other modern treaties in this territory, language...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regards to -- this is a very sensitive topic. It's a very important topic. And it's incredibly important that we find a way forward that respects the treaty rights of all Indigenous governments -- or and all Indigenous people in this territory. And ultimately Education, Culture and Employment has no interest in standing in the way but certainly has an interest in ensuring that they are upholding the treaty rights of all Indigenous people in this territory.
And so what I would like to say to the Member, Mr. Speaker, is that I really welcome the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this fits really nicely over within our workforce development and labour section over in Education, Culture and Employment, and so I don't think we need to go and create a new division, per se, or hire more people. I think there's an opportunity for us to look at the programs that we already have and figure out ways to structure them. An example of that is I've been working closely with some of our Indigenous development corporations and working to figure out how we at the department can better support their workforce development and training...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is something that is incredibly important to me and something that I definitely intend to uphold. Mr. Speaker, within this legislation -- sorry. Can we come back to this question, Mr. Speaker, please. Thank you.
