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, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I've got the Finance website open in front of me, and just for everyone's sake Property Tax Arrears Program is designed to help residents who have property tax or residential lease arrears in the Northwest Territories. And so, given that information, I'm wondering if the Minister of Finance can confirm if Housing NWT clients can use property tax arrears to pay rental arrears? Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, in 2016, the GNWT created the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. The NTHSSA was created to provide efficiencies and streamline administrative services for the regional health authorities. It was thought at the time that one agency to manage procurement and administration could save money, provide consistency, and manage the ongoing deficits from the regional boards.
Unfortunately what happened, Madam Speaker, is that the NTHSSA now takes procurement and decisionmaking away from the regions while the health deficit continues to grow.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I too would just like to thank Mr. Thagard for his service here. He's been an absolute joy to work with and I would like to, on behalf of Kam Lake, congratulate him on his retirement.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I always love sharing ideas. I've shared one this week that will tackle two of the five major items that run over in the health budget, which is trading education for service in the public service. Thank you.
My next question for the Minister is has there been an evaluation of health authority programs to determine where specifically there can be cost savings to the government in this fiscal year? Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Can the Minister or sorry, can the Minister answer what is the Minister of Health and Social Services doing to meaningfully address the growing deficit of NTHSSA and is healthcare in the territory chronically underfunded? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I'm seeing here that it also extends to residential lease arrears. And so I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to what that difference is and if it also extends to damages incurred within residential lease arrears as well, and if that confirmation can be made. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to congratulate my colleague for a "yes" on the floor from Housing. I think that's a great start.
Madam Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Finance. I'm wondering if the Minister of Finance can provide an idea of how much property tax arrears the GNWT forgives every year in the Northwest Territories? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Tomorrow is a new day. Mr. Chair, my next question is one of the things that was pointed out after the labour market supplement was announced within NTHSSA is that the Hay River health authority falls out of that. So should the Hay River health authority move forward? Are we to expect an additional supplementary appropriation, or how will that work? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'm glad the Minister brought up additional staff. And it's my understanding that this line item also speaks to the hiring of additional staff. And I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to that item and how many people that might be, and we'll go from there. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I just have a couple of questions. I'm wondering how quickly the labour market supplement will be provided to existing employees. Thank you.
