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.
Short is not my skill set, Mr. Speaker. No, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that we can't bind the next government but this is an opportunity to really call on the government to focus on housing and addressing youth homelessness for youth aging out of care in the legislative proposal that comes forward from the government. And I think that this is something that's needed when asking - you know, we heard a question today about whether or not this homelessness strategy is actually going to solve homelessness. This is something very specific and very strategic that the government can do to address...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate that from the Minister. Mr. Speaker, other jurisdictions have acknowledged the challenges of youth exiting government care by creating legislation, policies, and resources to directly help youth transition from care. There are some creative solutions out there that help address this. One example that I wanted to highlight in the House today is agedout.com. It's a web page dedicated to BC young adults who have aged out of government care, and I really highly recommend people take a look at it.
Even within this website, Mr. Speaker, youth can...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, two years ago, this government tabled a procurement review report published by an independent review panel. The report highlighted the concerns of northern business about communication and procedural fairness of how bids are administered, advertised, or requested, and how the government is evaluating value for dollar. Businesses identified concerns about being shut out of opportunities to apply on bids and do not believe their BIP status is giving them the intended advantage.
Mr. Speaker, we have yet to see a response from the GNWT to the procurement review...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, be read for the second time.
Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act to adjust the allowance in part 5 of Schedule C annually using the average change in the consumer price index over the past five years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I got them open now here of what the expectation was from the federal government. And the Minister's right, there's home care, there's improving access to mental health, there's supporting health workers and reducing backlogs, and I just don't understand the position that health is being put in by the federal government to accomplish this with a $12 million increase. And so I'm wondering when the Minister speaks to that, this is really based on outcomes, health outcomes, and that this needs to be measured and reported to the federal government, how does the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.
In February, the federal government announced investment of $198.6 billion over ten years for provinces and territories to improve health care services for Canadians focused on shared priorities. To access this funding, the government needs to develop action plans to describe how funds will be spent and how progress will be measured. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if the Minister, to start us off with, can provide us or provide this House with an update of where this is at? Thank...
Mr. Speaker, to anyone helping to raise a child in this today's society, let's collectively take a deep breath. It's hard. From SnapChat to substance use, learning boundaries to learning algebra, and navigating the costs today while preparing them for tomorrow, and somehow in the middle of all that, trying to take moments of magic in their every day. It is hard.
My heart goes out to today's parents who have the added challenge of finding childcare and, in some cases, choosing between their career goals and their family goals. Accessible and affordable childcare is paying an oversized role in...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive the rules and put Bill 90 directly into Committee of the Whole and not standing committee. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I appreciate the Minister's comments about not turning themselves inside out in order to meet the reporting requirements of this. But it seems like almost in some way, shape, or form by doing this funding agreement that the federal government is actually dictating how and where the GNWT will be spending its health care dollars in exchange for such a small portion of money for that. And so I really appreciate that the health minister is, in fact, continuing to draw more money out of the federal government. One of the things that's interesting about this and...
