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. Absolutely want to acknowledge that ultimately the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has a responsibility to ensure that accessible education is being afforded to communities. Currently, now following the presentation this morning, the committee knows what I know which is that the college intends to switch to online learning and deliver programming like that. They have some data about some great successes in online learning with students across the territory from one end of the territory to the other. And, really, the opportunity here is for me...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, myself and department staff have a very good working relationship with CanNor, and we are always looking for ways to identify new funds and use ITI funds in a stackable way. We're always looking to maximize our investment in anything that we do, and we'll certainly continue to do that. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Yes, please.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, industry, tourism and investment does have a robust program to support people who want to get into fishing in the Northwest Territories, that they are able to support with equipment that people might need. And then in addition to that, education, culture and employment also does have a wage subsidy program if fishers are wanting to hire deck hands, and so there's a training component there as well and able to kind of do some succession planning for future fishers. Industry, tourism and investment has also been investing in a winter fishery to make...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So overall, there was more money afforded to the program. One of the most distinctive changes was that persons with disabilities and people who are elders and seniors were placed into their own separate program, and so now there's the income assistance for persons with disabilities and seniors, and there's the income assistance for adults’ program as well. The income assistance for adults’ program is for persons who are 19 to 59 years old. And within the income assistance program as well, people -- there were other exemptions that were income exemptions that...
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. Mr. Speaker, right now the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is certainly watching what's happening. They've got a close working relationship with our Chambers of Commerce, industry representatives, as well as business associations in the Northwest Territories. I think it's crucial at this time that we're very open and honest about what the impacts are. We don't have an indication of doing -- or sorry, we don't have a plan right now of launching a program because I think it's really important that we see what the impacts are. There are a lot of...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We currently have 12. The first 11 are on things like our business incentive program, they're on things like our resources, like fisheries and oil, and then there's one of them that is a future one so it's not for resources today. The things that we are looking at doing resolve more around labour mobility and barriers that we have in that realm. And then the other piece, Mr. Speaker, is around regulatory harmonization. So a great example of that is the work that's currently being done at the reconciliation table around the trucking pilot, and all jurisdictions...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I think what needs to be -- there's a few things that need to be ironed out first, and that is what the future looks like before we can start allocating funding to different entities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
