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, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, ECE collaborates regularly with the Northern Mosaic Network through the safe and caring school subcommittee. And this supports education bodies' needs around ensuring that 2SLGBTQIPA+ youth are -- have access to safety, equity, and inclusion. The Northern Mosaic Network is invited and provides sessions as well to NWT educators through annual in-services. And recently, the Northern Mosaic Network provided in-service on supporting 2SLGBTQIPA+ diversity in secondary and elementary education at the program support teacher in-service that just occurred in...
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: A Package of Information regarding Policies on 2SLGBTQIPA+ Youth in the Northwest Territories, including a letter to the Northern Mosaic Network and a response to the Northern Mosaic Network. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll make the commitment to first find out if there is a challenge at the education board and school level. And if there is a challenge, I will make the commitment to ensure that it's addressed. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I love data and evidence-based decision-making, and I'm always game to see what numbers are out there. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point, you know, there's been conversation about putting extra dollars into early learning and child care. There's been comments about expanding the -- or removing the cap and putting dollars in there. There's been requests for putting more money into seniors' home heating subsidy. And there's only so much that I can move dollars around within the department in order to accommodate those. So some difficult decisions are going to have to be made on behalf of this whole government as a team. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a tremendous amount of training opportunities and education opportunities for people here in the Northwest Territories. And I believe that, really, the response to this question is an allofgovernment response where really it's about making sure that, A, people have access to this training; B, that people are prepared to enter into any kind of training that we are making available, and so I think that this is a coordinated response as far as making sure that people can put food on the table, that people have access to food, that students...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this working group is responsible for implementing and coordinating activities to support the multiyear Giant Mine Remediation Project SocioEconomic Agreement, or strategy, and a staff member that we do have sitting on this group is a labour development and standards division staff member, and their role in this group is, I think, a very important one because they provide information on labour market information, training needs, and also employment standards perspectives. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is probably a little bit more of an ECE question and kind of a marriage between the two departments, which is so nice to be able to wear both hats. But as far as Aurora College is concerned with that date, they have informed us that they do have a funding agreement with CIRNAC to develop courses related to mining remediation. These courses are currently under development and while Aurora College is at an arm's length, I'm more than happy to follow up with any of the particular information with the chair of the board that Members might want. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the remediation of the Norman Wells oil field will be managed by the owner of that lease that's on that property, which is Imperial Oil Resources. However, what I can say is due to ongoing development in the planning process on that remediation, the Government of the Northwest Territories, while it doesn't have detailed information, is doing what it can in order to try and make sure that there is some synergy happening. Like the MLA said, this is Canada's longest operating onshore oil field which definitely is a legacy but one that has some...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was reminded to slow down so my apologies to the interpreters.
Getting the MARS system and going on a journey to MARS with the Member is definitely a priority, and I look forward to continuing to find out if there are solutions to getting this done quicker. But I am also looking to make sure that it is done properly. Thank you.
