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. Mr. Speaker, I'm wondering if Health and Social Services will commit to establishing navigator or case worker positions within the adult diagnostic clinic to provide that individualized personal and centered supports that their clients need? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the next thing that I wanted to talk about really quickly was the Indigenous languages broadcasting line item which is found on page 37. It's been a stagnant number for a number of years now at 878. And the reason I wanted to point this out is in looking at different ways that different areas or different areas of the world have been able to do language revitalization, one of the places that was able to have quite a lot of success was Hawaii, and they found about 50 years ago that they had lost quite a bit of language speakers and, through radio...
Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The NWT is definitely not alone in that. When looking for data and research worldwide, it's definitely the stigma around FASD is definitely shared and by having these conversations, I think we can do our part to try and strip away that stigma.
I'm wondering if part of the adult FASD clinic identifies whether or not the person taking part in the clinic is a parent? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, FASD is similar to trauma in that it changes the way a person responds to the world around them and how they fit within it. People with FASD require some of the same supports as a person who has experienced traumas.
Mr. Speaker, there is limited research available about FASD prevalence and even less research available on parenting with FASD. In studies I did find, less than 50 percent of children to parents with FASD were in the care of their parent. Parents with FASD are more likely to experience homelessness, domestic violence, and substance abuse.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, just in regards to the Education Act, that was one piece of legislation that we had anticipated seeing in the 19th Assembly. Can the Minister speak to the new timeline that ECE is working toward completing that work by? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I see that there is not a substantial increase to policy legislation and communication for that line item. So is that being funded from within? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Yeah, thank you very much for that. And I guess the department, I suppose, has heard that there's definitely support for growth in this area from this side of the House, and I just want to and I value what Mr. Jenkins just said about the AEA program as well but just want to also reiterate, and support the words of my colleague from Hay River South, about investment in Arctic Energy Alliance as well and increasing that line item so that we can see some more funding to innovative energy supports in the territory. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 99)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My next question is in regards to continuing a conversation about electric vehicle pilot project successes that we heard about earlier today. I'm wondering if there is a plan from the GNWT to build electric vehicle charging stations throughout the Northwest Territories?
Our neighbour to the west, the Yukon, currently has 11 charging stations available to residents and an additional five planned for 2022. And so I'm wondering if we can hear about the plans for the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. While I know that this is not NWT Housing Corp's day, this is something that definitely has an impact on childcare in communities. Does the Minister of ECE know when this work will be complete?
