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 143)

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I wanted to talk about integrated case management as well. And I appreciate that my colleague to my left asked some of the questions that I had as well. But it actually led to a little bit of confusion for me.

So I get that ICM is kind of a team of pathfinders that then go and take people kind of from door to door of government departments to help them access all the services they might need whereas integrated service delivery doesn't use pathfinders because the whole idea there is breaking down the silos between departments so that you don't...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm aware of Indigenousled renewable energy projects that can't go ahead because of this 20 percent cap that NTPC currently has. While our energy strategy commits us to reduce emissions from diesel power generation in communities by 18 kilotons every year by 2030, we are turning down proposals for renewable projects.

So can the Minister commit to make changes to the policy so that NTPC will work with any business or community that bring forward green energy projects even if they are above the 20 percent cap? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. This is public knowledge. It was in the media, and so I'm going to I'm going to speak to it here today.

When somebody is released to the Salvation Army, sometimes or any shelter across the territory, sometimes that's not either the right fit for that individual or relationships have already been broken, and that is possible, or maybe that facility is already full. When someone when a facility operates on a first come first serve basis and has policies to that effect, for Justice to step in and say okay, this person goes there, it's very difficult when...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I have questions for the Minister responsible for NTPC about greening I know, it's a shocker about greening our electricity mix without making rates less affordable than they already are.

One of the GNWT's main policy tools to green the electricity mix is net metering. But that policy isn't sustainable for ratepayers or for our 2030 Energy Strategy goals. A 2021 policy review found that by 2030, electricity utilities will be losing up to $2.7 million per year on net metering, and that's without going beyond the 20 percent cap on renewables...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 143)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my concern is that this funding pot here is not actually providing people with the or maybe, sorry, let me rephrase that. This funding pot is not providing the department with the tools that it needs in order to stop the cycle between homelessness and incarceration. And I understand that there's programming involved in that, it's not just housing, but I don't think that this funding pot actually helps people access stable housing. And so if it's simply housing that people are looking for what I'm okay. People are leaving our correctional facilities and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a document entitled "Early Learning and Child Care in Canada: Where Have We Come and Where are We Going?" published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Social Development is pleased to provide its interim report on Bill 65, Builders’ Lien Act, and commends it to the House.

Bill 65, Builders’ Lien Act, was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review on November 3rd, 2022. A plain language summary for Bill 65 was tabled on the same day. The sponsoring department for Bill 65 is the Department of Justice. During committee's review and public hearing on Bill 65, inquiries focused on applying the Builders’ Lien Act to the Government of the Northwest Territories...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my previous question was in regards to whether or not the fund can fund an entire project or if it can only fund a portion of a project. But my next question and if the Minister is able to answer that, great. And the reason that I ask this is that in my statement I also talked about the Yellowknife Daycare Association who paid just over $4 million before the pandemic, before inflation, before the high cost higher cost of building in the Northwest Territories for 104 spaces. If the goal of ECE is to create 300 new spaces, the $1 million...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during a March 2022 public hearing with the Standing Committee on Social Development, the Minister and staff stated that increases to the fund would be made in, quote, "considerations for project going forward based on need." So I'm wondering if the fund isn't intended to increase, how potentially would the Minister be able to accomplish this based on need, and what would be used as determinants of need? Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the federal government's universal child care goal is to build a Canadawide communitybased system of quality care. This is good news. But unfortunately this good news has had a rocky shotgun start here in the Northwest Territories. While the foundation for $10aday child care takes shape, some struggles we are seeing aren't new to this funding model.

The federal government's own explicit model in this new Canadawide social program is Quebec who, in 1997, built an affordable child care system. This system has led to large increases in birthgiver employment and...