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, 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.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week a colleague of mine tabled written questions in regards to the municipal funding gap specifically asking for the status of that gap and specifically also by community.
I'm wondering if the Minister responsible will commit to tabling actuals of the funding gap on an annual basis by community as this is a question that has come up annually since our term has begun. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on the final day of the 18th Assembly, the government quietly tabled a study. The study was a strategic response to the municipal funding gap. It contained some dire findings. Specifically, it showed that from 2014 to 2019, despite increased GNWT funding of over $8 million, the municipal funding gap was basically unchanged at $40 million. Communities' cost to maintain and replace infrastructure grew faster than the GNWT's funding. And that study showed that from 2014 to 2019, community infrastructure costs increased by an average of $2.7 million per year.
In...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 98)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I know that health and social services is also currently working on a supportive living review, and I just wanted to clarify, do the two documents speak to one another and work in conjunction together so that they are are collaborative, I guess, in that sense?
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Quick one, oh my gosh. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I will leave the discussion about retrofits and repairs to somebody else. And I notice that there is an increase in here for rent supplement leasing. Does that have is that an increase in leasing units in the territory? Does that have anything to do with the money that's given to ECE for renting and leasing units, and is there an intent to combine those budget line items between ECE and housing so that housing is coming out of one department? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I appreciate that. So if I'm in the wrong section for this next question, please let me know. And it's in regards to the declining CMHC funding.
I'm wondering if the Minister can speak to whether or not the Housing Corporation has put in an application to have that declining CMHC funding replaced by the GNWT to FMB? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Has the Housing Corporation received any kind of indication from FMB or the GNWT as to whether or not they're going to continue to do that following 20222023 fiscal year? Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 97)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. So not including the RCMP units, because the Housing Corporation is getting revenue on those and so those would pay for themselves, there's about 74 new units coming onboard in the 20222023year. So with the increase of O and M costs on those units that is expected to come with each of those, is that amount still based on that 25,000 O and M per unit, and is that built or is the increase of 74 units in the 20222023 year O and M built into this budget? Thank you.
