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.
Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Investment
Statements in Debates
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, I look forward to that review and to a report or a proposal coming forward. Just looking at the $185,000, that divided by 33 communities, which I know is probably not divided evenly. Even so, that's just over $5,000 per community, and so it won't go very far and probably doesn't go even as far as communities would like it to go. I definitely welcome that, and I would like to request that, as part of that report, if possible, it include cell service on our highways. That's something that we discuss quite a bit. I know that is a Department of Finance item...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I am wondering if there are timelines associated with each of the first three acts that the deputy minister referred to, that being the property assessment act, the Fire Prevention Act, and the seniors and disabled property tax act, if there are deadlines that the department is working towards in order to have those through to this side of the House. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I'm wondering if the Minister would be able to expand on what legislative priorities the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs has for this coming year? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Minister touched on my next question a little bit, and that is in regard to privacy. I appreciate that this next question might be a little bit difficult to answer right now, but I am wondering if the GNWT intends to create an integrated information management system to better support NWT residents and prevent re-collection of relevant personal information, support networks, and support history. One of the things that I think could be really positive of that is people might be falling through the cracks at the same point a lot of times as they work through...
I appreciate that it's a big aspiration and will require an entire culture shift, but I think that there are some pieces that we can start working on right now. I appreciate the Minister laying out some of the ones that they are working on. The City of Yellowknife drafted a homelessness plan, and it indicated a need for coordinated access to front-line services, so I am wondering: how is the Department of Justice creating government-wide coordinated access through common intake and access points to better serve NWT residents? That is so that people are not running from department to...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. My knowledge of this program is limited. If I go off script a little bit, please let me know where I do. My understanding is that this is a Youth Ambassador Program where it brings together students from across all 33 of our communities who are interested in leadership and gives youth an opportunity to get to know one another and also to work on leadership projects together. This seems like a really key area for us to be able to find out from youth more information about the state of education, how to support people in communities through education, and it...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Finance Minister said in her 2021 budget address, "Creativity, innovation, and collaboration are key to our success." Fort Good Hope has successfully brought these three pillars together through the K'asho Got'ine Housing Society, a non-profit created to fill the rising need for community-based housing providers that deliver innovative social policy parallel to safe housing infrastructure. The society recognizes the long-term value of supporting housing models that address the needs of residents and has successfully combined housing, social policy, and workforce...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I appreciate that and look forward to further detail on that one. The other line item that I am looking for more information on and how it relates is the youth line item. What, in addition, is included in that line item? I'm assuming that Youth Corps is included in there, and I am wondering if the Minister can provide additional information on that one.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Just to echo the messaging from the Member for Nunakput in regards to getting our kids in communities active and making sure that kids have stuff to do, I believe that that is a huge portion of mental health. Mental health is not just having phone numbers for kids to call. Mental health is keeping kids active and making sure that they have things to do in all of our 33 communities. I am a little bit concerned when I look at, for example, the travel line item down below. That's substantially higher than our sport and recreation number up above. I am wondering...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 59)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. No, I appreciate that there are different systems out there. I think what I'm asking for the Minister to do is to lobby her colleague at the Department of Finance to put in some added cell towers and make cell service accessible on all of our highways. Thank you.
