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. And I'm sure that the Minister will appreciate less written questions for that one as well then in the future.
Mr. Speaker, my next question is in regards to support for municipalities. One of the things that we hear over and over again is that we have to decide where we're going to put our money as a government and that we have a very specific amount of money for new initiatives. The problem with that is that this is an invoice to the government from municipalities. This is money that we owe based on our own formula that currently exists. So this isn't new...
Thanks, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs today in regards to the municipal funding gap.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 98)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I just wanted to I have one last question just on page 383 at the bottom there is utilities, and I note that the actuals for 20202021 were at 398 and that the main estimates for 20222023 come back down to the standard we see every year of 232. And I'm just wondering if the Minister can confirm why the jump in utilities and why that's expected to come back down to the main estimate number. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 98)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I understand that president Young has, you know, only recently come in to the Housing Corporation. So I know that she has adopted a lot of the work that was already being done, but I just wanted to point out or ask of the Minister that it is the expectation that this is an allofgovernment approach and that the strategy will include participation of other departments. So can you Minister confirm that other departments participated on this and that it is an allofgovernment approach? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 98)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I'll narrow it down, and the Minister might not have the question or the answer, and I will admit I didn't provide the questions to her in advance and I understand that this is quite detailed.
The one that I'm really after is the amount of people served by the emergency shelters funding number of 2.997, and I'm wondering if that is given it's more specific of a number request, if that's one that the Minister has?
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 98)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Yeah, Madam Chair, I and I absolutely agree with the president, that the Housing Corporation cannot do it alone, that it is going to take partnerships in order to be able to pull the NWT out of the housing crisis that it is currently in.
But that being said, the federal government isn't funding O and M. The federal government is putting forward funding for building new capital. We even saw that in the rapid housing initiative money that came out that was due I believe the applications were due at the end of December. That application process mandated that...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, another priority of Health and Social Services was to streamline application and reporting processes for various funding opportunities. In speaking with different NGOs, I know that there is a struggle out there for some of the expectations on some of the applications and reporting situations. Procurement does have a red tape working group and a mechanism for businesses to come back to the government and let them know what is lengthy or overburdensome and I'm wondering if health has the similar process. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister's response. I've taken a look at the community wellness plans, and they range from anywhere from three pages to some are 20 plus pages. So they are very different, depending on what community that they come from. Also taking a look through them, I've noticed that not every plan contains mental health as a community wellness priority, for example. And while I know that perhaps there are competing priorities within communities, mental health and mental wellness is definitely a priority across the board for every single...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the municipal funding gap is something that you hear all Members talk about. And one thing I think that we can all agree is there's huge gains to be made by closing that gap from a community level. I'm wondering if the government will commit or when the government will commit to providing committee with a draft plan to reduce and address the municipal funding gap once and for all? Thank you.
