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
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. What the Member is seeing there, and the difference is the investment in the fish plant. So we have been working to build and open a fish plant in Hay River, and we are no longer needing that -- that's what is not represented there, is the fish plant money. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Well, first of all, I would have to say that I'm legislatively required to have diamonds valuated in the territory. And the perks of diamonds or the revenue from diamonds is certainly greater than what it is seen here under the revenue summary. So, you know, example, we have hundreds -- well, over -- we've got thousands of Northerners working at our diamond mines, and Diavik alone for example, is 1200. And in addition to the people that are working at the mine and the benefits of that, or working for the mine, there's also all of the contract opportunities that...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, with some of the funding that Aurora College has, they intend to continue -- to pay out staff using their staff retention policy. Some of that funding is being shifted to their online version of the adult learning and basic education. And then some of that funding is going to support the development of their Bachelor of Education, their diploma of social work. They're working on their made-in-the North degree. They're working on -- they shared with this House programming for dental therapy up in Inuvik. And so there's a lot of programming that...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Well, Mr. Chair, I can definitely say that the staff that work on trade within ITI have had an incredibly busy year. We currently sit -- the Northwest Territories is currently the chair on the committee of internal trade, and we've already had three meetings this year at a federal, territorial, provincial level, which I know is a lot of time for staff but I will say huge props to those staff. They are absolute rock stars. They have supported me every step of the way. They have done incredible work not only on behalf of the Northwest Territories but on behalf of...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the income security programs for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment underwent extensive review and changes in the 19th Assembly. We were able to implement those changes just last year, so they still have not undergone a full year in the new system. And so I think this is a time where we are certainly watching to see how those changes are being implemented so that we can establish if changes -- further changes are needed in the future. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, nothing is off the table with the review. We intend to do a very wholistic review of the program from start to finish and everything in between. The program, as it currently stands, does have both of those things, and so that will be a very natural input into the review. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I would say that it could be different from different communities. But certainly, you would want to ensure that the community is aligned in that request and ultimately working together because then you have certainly a better product at the end of the day if you have community support for it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, for the facilities that are owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Department of Infrastructure does have an asset disposal policy. While it is imperative that we follow that policy, I also feel that it is imperative that we also speak with communities to find out what their intent is as well, to make sure that we have an open conversation about those assets. We have had outreach from some communities indicating what they would like to use their local community learning centre for, and so continuing those conversations is paramount.
An...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And thank you to the Member for the question. I'd like to start off by acknowledging that it has certainly been a very difficult time for the Sahtu with the cancellation of the barge season and the impacts of climate change on Sahtu communities.
The barge cancellation program was a one-time program that we launched in recognition of the very difficult season that the Sahtu endured and certainly we, you know, hoped that water will come back. We know that it's predicted to be another dry year, and so we continue to encourage people to get insurance, especially...