Caitlin Cleveland

Member Kam Lake

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.

Kam Lake Electoral District

Committees

Caitlin Cleveland
Kam Lake
Constituency Office
Phone
Minister's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Phone
Extension
11124

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that we hear in committee quite often is this desire for some more transparency around equivalencies. And this program, I praise Health and Social Services for their support of the program and their support also through the aftercare fund as well in providing people with access to that funding in order to provide employment beyond the program. But I'm wondering if Health and Social Services will increase the transparency of the equivalencies within their job descriptions so that people know what equivalencies will be accepted by...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd also like to request that teachers be made part of that process. Some of the feedback that I'm hearing is that there's definitely a feeling of an iron wall in some instances between the teaching staff and the Health and Social Services staff. And so there is a desire to have a collaborative process of how to support students in the classroom if there is ways for teachers to better support their students.

So I'd just like to leave that there.

But I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to the number of CYCC vacancies that currently exist across...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my questions today are in regards to the child and youth care counsellor program. I note that we're about just over two years in to the new way that schools are being able to bring child and youth care counsellors into their schools. And so I'm wondering if cabinet can speak to what kind of feedback or review process Health is undertaking with schools to evaluate this program and how are the CYCCs collaborating with teaching staff to provide that feedback. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 112)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, growing up in the North, I was never interested in politics. My view was antiquated with visions of smoke filled back rooms full of white-haired men talking about things that didn't include me. But they did, and they do. The conversations in those rooms speaks to health, safety, dignity, and potential. And as I have aged, I realize that who is having the conversation is just as important as the conversation itself.

This May, the Legislative Assembly's Youth Parliament provided a week-long glimpse of territorial politics, the role of consensus government, and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services develop a Child and Family Services Evaluation and Monitoring Framework, including a data profile on children and youth in care. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services deliver, and make mandatory, culturallysafe and traumainformed training for foster families. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess what I am going to do is kind of shift here to just a GNWT focus and take the feds out of the equation.

So even within the GNWT, there are existing contracts. We have hundreds of millions of dollars of carryovers from Infrastructure every year and some of those are contracts that have already been set before COVID, before the inflation. Like even a contract that was set at this time last year would have been incurring additional substantial additional costs this year. And some of those might have people in certain business situations where...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Mr. Chair, I move that this committee recommends that the Department of Health and Social Services increase funding to Indigenous governments, communities and organizations to deliver addictions recovery ontheland healing options specifically tailored to youth. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and I guess further to the conversations that I'm hearing today between colleagues on this side of the House, the Minister of Infrastructure, the Minister of Finance or ITI here today, one of the things that has struck me is this idea of getting projects done on time and on budget right now. And one of the things that we have just heard as well acknowledged by Minister Wawzonek on screen was, you know, the rising costs of living in the Northwest Territories and inflation as well.

So if, you know, costs of wood, steel, all have gone up over the last period of...