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 so much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, it also includes earned income. This includes honorariums. We have a lot of elders and seniors in the Northwest Territories that participate on boards using their years of experience, and so this is something that seniors and elders would be accounted for within that section as well. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the demographic information that is found within the regulations for education, culture and employment's early learning and child care regulations is not new information that's being collected. I think it's worth stating here, Mr. Speaker, that this information, while listed in the regulations and while asked of early learning and child care providers to collect it, is not then collected by ECE and it is not mandatory that they collect it and then receive funding for it. No one is not receiving funding. So funding is still flowing. It is also...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 82)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So I suppose the answer would be yes and no in that Jordan's Principle funding does not show up in the Government of the Northwest Territories' main estimates but what is captured there is the support assistant initiative that was introduced. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, all 49 schools in the Northwest Territories are required to have and maintain safe school and emergency response plans. These plans are reviewed every three years. In between that time, Mr. Speaker, as we know the world quickly changes and so schools themselves can update their plans at any time, can lean on the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to ensure that they've got the support that they need for any updates within that timeframe. But every three years, on a cycle, those plans are also audited on a regular basis. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 82)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I certainly hear the Member on this one. It becomes a question of where we, at the end of the day, want to be able to put added dollars and invest. I am working very hard right now to make sure that we're investing more in our JK to 12 education system, especially with the review on inclusive schooling. And if we are to increase funding to a program or programs outside of the Northwest Territories, we are faced with the decision of either finding more dollars from somewhere, and that can be quite a challenge right now. I am trying to funnel those as...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, as you know there is a tremendous amount of assets. These are billion-dollar diamond mines that we have operating in the Northwest Territories that have a significant amount of infrastructure that could potentially be repurposed in a multitude of ways, whether that is a research centre, a logistics hub, or potentially processing of different types of minerals, depending on what type of adjustments can be made to processing plants. These are conversations that we continue to have. We as a government certainly don't have the pockets deep enough...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 82)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, it can be everyone from groups within the community. It can be through different organizations. And so there's a multitude of people that can apply for this funding. And I'd be happy to provide the Member with a list of funding that has gone to Tlicho communities specifically in the past -- or last year, if the Member would like. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 82)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we're always happy to get more money from the federal government. So it is an agreement with the federal government. The Member has not missed anything in Committee of the Whole. This is the first I've been asked about it, so the first I've been able to talk about it. Because we don't have the dollars in hand, I am advised that I should be a little bit vague on the number but it would come forward in supplementary appropriation to this House, and I look forward to sharing more details, hopefully sooner than later, with Members of the House and...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the legislation itself needs to follow the CAQC process. So the CAQC process is currently underway between Aurora College and the CAQC. Once we receive a recommendation either way from the CAQC, we would be able to proceed from there, and that will help form the detail that would be found in the legislation. The legislation then needs to be tabled in this House and go through the process that is laid out by this House. And once that is passed, it would come after that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
