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, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I too wanted to speak to this recommendation. I feel strongly that Northerners are currently in a kind of northern double jeopardy where right now Northerners are being they're seeing increases to their power rates through NTPC for using archaic energy infrastructure and then on the flip side they're going taxed through the carbon tax for using that infrastructure and not using alternatives but these alternatives don't exist to Northerners. And so if we're going to turn around and kind of, so to speak, slap Northerners on the wrist for not using...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my written question is for the Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
To calculate the annual funding it provides to local housing organizations, LHOs, for repair and maintenance of its public housing portfolio, Housing NWT uses a formula that multiplies a fixed amount by the number and type of housing units. The LHOs are expected to allocate the funds according to the needs identified in the annual property inspection and condition rating process.
Based on the Housing NWT formula, what amount should each LHO be funded to deliver public housing;
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I understand that my next question might be a little bit out of scope for the Minister, but I'm wondering if the Minister will then work with the Minister of ECE, because Education, Culture and Employment has a fund, a subsidy fund, that employers can take advantage of to hire their own summer students outside of the GNWT. And I heard from Kam Lake employers that the deadline associated with this subsidy is actually prohibitive for them to be able to hire summer students. I believe the deadline for that program is January. And so what happens is...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are for the Minister of finance. It doesn't look it like it outside, but summer is coming. The sun is shining, and our university students will be home soon from university, and probably some will start to book their tickets and get on planes in just probably a few short five to six weeks. So I'm wondering if the Minister of finance can indicate how many summer students the GNWT plans to hire this summer. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Happy International Women's Day. This year's theme is Embrace Equity. Embracing equity is not about getting through the door and breathing a sigh of relief that you made it. It's about constantly reflecting and learning who hasn't made it through the door and what it takes to keep the door open.
Mr. Speaker, I need to be willing to be uncomfortable, learn, acknowledge how the status quo is benefitting me and ask how I can help others achieve the same. Changing what our businesses, professions, spaces, and even legislatures look like doesn't often come from the masses but...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I won't keep everybody very long here. But what I really wanted to say here is there's zero guarantee that anybody in this room who is debating this right now will be here in six months. None. And so if it's important to anybody in this room, for example, that the revenue sharing from carbon tax goes to community governments, Indigenous governments, nongovernmental organizations, then that needs to be in legislation. If it's not in legislation, we don't have the opportunity for changes to how that revenue sharing is happening to come forward in a...
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my next question is in regards to computer hardware and software. One of the things that helps the government be a lot more effective and efficient is being able to have systems that speak to one another. Is there a concern from ECC in terms of amalgamating the software that each department is currently using or in being able to have kind of, for example, Lands software be able to speak to other departments for more effective and efficient working relationships and breaking down silos. Is there a concern that this value is enough or not enough, or...
Yeah, thank you very much, Madam Chair. And, Madam Chair, I'm sure the Minister can kind of sense some uneasiness from Members on this one here and especially approving a budget with almost 500 staff in it. And to be honest, it actually increases by one staff member from 20222023 to 20232024. So I'm not sure maybe I can start there. Why, if we don't even have an org chart, is the department increasing a staff member? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think this side of the House is well aware that the Northwest Territories has a housing deficit and needs more homes. My question was what is the current difference between what is funded and what is required? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Oh Mr. Speaker, I'm sorry, I'm operating out of my computer today. There we go. My questions today are for the Minister responsible for Housing NWT.
Mr. Speaker, to calculate the annual funding it provides to LHOs for repair and maintenance of its public housing portfolio, the corporation uses a formula that multiplies a fixed amount by the number and type of housing units. The LHOs are expected to allocate the funds according to the needs identified in the annual property inspection and condition rating process. So I'm wondering if the Minister can let the...
