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 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I hear the empathy from the Minister and I also hear the acknowledgement from Ministers and Members on kind of the cumulative impacts of having to evacuate, as the MLA for Hay River North said earlier during their Member's statement, two, three, four consecutive years here, going on with disasters from really, from the impacts of climate change and so we're just going to continue to see more of them. But we also heard the MLA for Hay River North today during their Member's statement speaks about how the fire is only six kilometres away right now, and so...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the Minister stating that because I had the privilege of having dinner with people from Hay River last night, and this was not the information that they were receiving from their supervisors. So I think that was really important information from the Minister, and I appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the emergency leave that is afforded to public servants is equal to the number of days that they were under mandatory evacuation. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've had the privilege of listening to NWT youth speak about mental health, addiction, access to sport, climate change, reclaiming language, family violence, living in care and, the piece that links so much of this, housing.

One fifth of Canadians experiencing homelessness are youth between 13 and 24. More youth experiencing homelessness identify as male, Indigenous, and a significant number identify as 2SLGBTQIPA+. Youth experiencing homelessness are six times more likely to be victimized and nearly every youth that spoke to social development on...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Monday, May 29th, 2023, I will present Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to deal with the motion I gave notice of earlier today.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act.

Bill 79 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 29th, 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 24th, 2023.

Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, is ready for consideration in Committee of the Whole. Thank you...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to ask that the Minister also and, you know, the GNWT's very good at using Bear Net leave, and as MLAs get Bear Net over here, and I'd like to ask that this information be added to an upcoming Bear Net circulation as well.

Mr. Speaker, GNWT employees are not the only NWT workers impact the by severe disasters. People who are selfemployed or work for small and medium business who do not have billable or hours worked are going weeks without pay sometimes during these mandatory evacuations that are happening. We heard here earlier today from...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 154)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Finance.

Mr. Speaker, for the second year in a row, Hay River and K'atlodeeche First Nation residents have been hit with severe disasters and forced to evacuate as we have heard much of today. Residents who work for the GNWT, but can't work remotely, are being asked to use vacation leave, special leave, or even leave without pay during this time. This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. Mandatory evacuation should not be made to take away from people's family and medical needs, mental health breaks, or vacation leave. The...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 153)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, over the last three and a half years, I have spoken about oral health on numerous occasions in this House. I have focused on the need of the GNWT to change and modernize the Dental Auxiliaries Act and the regulatory environment of dental hygienists to improve preventative oral health in small communities, and I have focused on the cost of the NWT's lack of equitable access to preventative oral health care. What I want to tell this House why it is important that I am moving forward with this bill.

We live in a unique part of the world with unique needs. In...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 153)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's pretty obvious that that first phone call that we received the very next morning after we were elected is a memorable one because it's definitely my first memory of talking to Tim. I had never met Tim before, and I had never spoken with Tim before. And I remember being so terrified on the phone that when I hung up, I realized I had absolutely no idea what he had just told me.

Mr. Speaker, Tim has a lot of passion for his role as Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and that is very obvious. He has a lot of love for the Northwest Territories, and...