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. So, Mr. Speaker, in my previous answer the only program that I referred to that had income testing associated with it was the income assistance program which is a program that ensures that residents can meet their month-to-month costs of living for their basic needs, and so that program certainly is income tested. And it is the parent that applies for that. The child does not apply for that program. And also, like I said, the mental health programs are available through the school, and there's no income testing on that. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, certainly if a parent -- a low-income parent is on income assistance, there is an amount that is also considered for children, for dependents of that individual, that they receive to make sure that their basic needs for their family are met. In addition, Mr. Speaker, in the city of Yellowknife, they have the Access for All Pass so that if there are low-income families that are looking to access, for example, the swimming pool, public skates, public transportation, that they can apply for the Access for All Pass to make it easier to gain access...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the policy intentions documents were distributed at the end of last year, and so everybody had an equal playing field as far as being able to provide feedback within the policy intentions documents. The conversations, really, that have happened one on one are about well, what about this part, and what about that part, and how does that work for industry and, you know, what does this mean at the end of the day, how does this impact investments or attracting investments, or how -- you know, based on timing, how much interaction there's going to...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of things that the college continues to work on that is found in the implementation plan on page 6 of the mandate agreement. The most exciting piece of that, Mr. Speaker, is that in December, the CAQC from Alberta -- so that's the accreditation body -- did travel up to the campuses here in the Northwest Territories as part of their process, and they are currently working on that process with Aurora College. And my understanding is that it was quite a successful trip and that this spring Aurora College intends to come out with...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, currently, Aurora College continues to work through its implementation plan, and I can say that in the last meeting that I was able to have with the deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, the president of Aurora College, and the chair of the Aurora College board of governors, that the implementation plan is on track and in progress right now. So, Mr. Speaker, in that most recent meeting, I also did pass along much of the same comments that we're getting from the Member right now, which is that a progress tracker that is updated...
[Translation] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The services that are provided are subject to a (audio). There is a process that informs the public that they can communicate in English or French when they access government services in the NWT. The goal is to make sure that individuals feel free to express themselves in the language of their choice. But, Mr. Speaker, the person could also ask for services in French if there is any kind of uncertainty.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I did have the opportunity to sit down with the Member and a number of parents who were quite candid in taking me through their experiences as parents of youth with disabilities, and it was incredibly helpful to be able to hear from them. I think it also would have been helpful to have had the Minister of health there as well considering that some of their questions did pertain to the health portfolio.
In regards to education, culture and employment, Mr. Speaker, this is where some of that work on the inclusive schooling review comes in. A number...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, what I've just heard from the Member is to remove income testing from income assistance, and so I am wondering if the Member can clarify. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we have a technical working group within the Intergovernmental Council that is working on the regulations for the Mineral Resources Act regulations. At this table, the GNWT is one party, and as you can imagine the Mineral Resources Act regulations are quite extensive. My understanding is they are currently over 250 pages. And we, in the Northwest Territories, have traditionally had diamond mines, Mr. Speaker, and so as we transition into the next chapter and next generation of mines in the Northwest Territories, it's really important to...
