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. Your committee would like to report on its consideration of Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act.
Bill 72 received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 2nd, 2023, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review. The standing committee held a public hearing on May 19th, 2023, and completed its clausebyclause review of the bill with the Minister of Justice on May 29th, 2023.
Mr. Speaker, the committee reports that Bill 72, Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, is ready for consideration...
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, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Bill 79, An Act to Amend the Judicature Act, received second reading in the Legislative Assembly on March 29th, 2023, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Development for review.
Bill 79 brings the Government of the Northwest Territories into compliance with requirements under the Canada Free Trade Agreement and addresses two concerns raised by the judiciary.
In the committee's review of the bill, no stakeholder submissions were received. The committee had no concerns with the bill either.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Minister for that. I very much appreciate that.
Mr. Speaker, the last change that I highlighted in my Member's statement today was the change for remissible loans. It added that for the eligibility requirement of students, I would like to understand why the GNWT wants to remove the eligibility requirement of students being schooled in the Northwest Territories for remissible loans without adding a return to the North clause for nonNWT schooled students. This has been one of the strongest retention tools that the NWT has, and I'm wondering...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I wanted to save the Minister some printing and get those changes in before he printed his new rules.
I think there's a lot more focus that's needed on this one because I think that there's something that can be done here in order to include more students in this in the Northwest Territories without it meaning more money from student financial assistance in big dollar amounts given where we're at.
Mr. Speaker, back when I was a student using student financial assistance, I was walking around with my flip phone, I was T9 texting or whatever you used to call it, and...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Wednesday is the deadline for getting feedback to the GNWT on the student financial assistance regulations. The regulations call for an increase to unlimited semesters for Indigenous students, and this is great news. But why stop there? The draft regulations maintain the six year or 12 semester basic grant cap for nonIndigenous students. Mr. Speaker, this does not keep pace with postsecondary or labour market trends or make sense given how SFA is used today.
Today, the average time to complete a bachelor's degree is almost five years, and the NWT labour...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 90, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 5, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
