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 152)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 80, Dental Hygienists Profession Statute Act, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Government of the Northwest Territories complete Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action No. 21 and secure substantive federal funding for Northwest Territories Indigenous healing centre to support Indigenous individuals who have been harmed and/or traumatized by the Indian Residential School system, Sixties Scoop, and other acts of colonization. Thank you, Madam Chair

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this is a very important one. We heard from multiple youth who were involved in or are involved in the child and family services system in care, or children who are not currently in care but that have been involved with the child and family services system and are choosing to use shelters to access safe housing. There is currently no available onebedrooms or bachelortype living or living options available in most of our communities in the Northwest Territories. And so when youth, or youth who age out of care, are looking for a place to live, a safe...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Madam Chair, I move that the chair rise and report progress.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And just so that I'm clear too, and I think that sometimes different words mean different things to different people, and one of my concerns there is that the word "recognition" could be, you know, we recognize and appreciate that you speak your language, and one of the things that I want to make sure is that the language spoken is valued by the GNWT in the form of remuneration. So, Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to state that there.

But will the Minister also consider committee's recommendation to create a new category of bonuses for Indigenous employees who are...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Justice increase funding to the men's healing fund to support regional healing programs for the holistic health and wellbeing of men. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services increase the Community Suicide Prevention Fund to $1 million annually.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, I jumped the gun there. We heard about this a lot in our travels to communities. And what spurred this motion is there are families who have lived in public housing units for decades, and unfortunately when an elder who is the leaseholder passes away, their children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews who live in that unit with them, and have spent their entire lives calling that unit home, find themselves homeless and at the bottom of a housing waitlist because they are not the leaseholder, and they have no claim to that home. And so this motion is...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think it's worthy to stand up today to support my colleagues from Inuvik Twin Lakes and Yellowknife North. And while I don't speak a lot about lands in this House here, and I'm thankful that they do, I do speak a lot about people and at the end of the day this comes down to people.

In the history of Canada, Mr. Speaker, we've often expected that Indigenous groups and Indigenous governments routinely need to go to the Supreme Court of Canada to see that their rights are respected and upheld. This is a costly, lengthy, and exhausting litigation process that is not fair...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I think it's worthwhile to actually start with identifying what is carbon tax. And so carbon tax, according to the federal government, is carbon pricing, about recognizing the cost of pollution, and accounting for those costs on daily decisions. Do I agree with the way that the federal government sees that rolling out in the territory? Absolutely not.

The government also says that the government sets a price that emitters must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas emissions that they emit. So what that, in turn, means is that they charge on fossil...