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, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, this is an accounting one where we've moved it from the grants line item for this coming year down to the contributions line item. So it is now found just down at the bottom of that page on page 39. So it's the last line item before the totals.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 81)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the Beaufort Delta Education Council delivers the northern distance learning on behalf of the whole territory. So that's where the program itself is based but it's accessible throughout the Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 81)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, certainly this is top of mind for the government as a whole, and whether it is Imperial and remediation work or it is, as the Member mentioned, potential for defence spending, the government and myself, as well in meetings that I am having, am pursuing timelines and workforce needs so that I can both share that with communities, ensuring I am sharing it with community education advisors, ensuring I am meeting with community leadership, and as well making sure that our education partners have that information as well from a post-secondary...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 81)
Thank you so much. So the school funding formula enhancements in here relate to materials and supplies. So there's forced growth under there. It's also assistive technologies for inclusive schooling. In addition to that, there is maintenance funding for YK1 and YCS schools here in Yellowknife as well, Mr. Chair. And there's also collective agreement funding through the NWTTTA. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, there are certainly, you know, things like work experience and certain labour roles, of course, that people don't need to be under a Red Seal person or -- let me start over, Mr. Speaker. Sorry.
So the answer to the Member's question essentially is yes, there are ways that we can do this in the Northwest Territories. So in the Northwest Territories, you don't need to be supervised by a Red Seal tradesperson. You can be supervised by a journeyperson. This is in our regulations.
A journeyperson is someone who has completed at least 72 hours of work...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is currently working on the legislation at the same time that the college is working through the CAQC accreditation process. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I can commit to the Member is making sure that I am working with my Cabinet colleagues through processes on this side of the House, and I can confirm with the Member that I have the support of my colleagues to make sure that we're having conversations around education and doing what we can to support Northerners. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I really wish that I could give the federal government a deadline, but the federal government has their own work processes that they follow. We did expect to hear in the end of 2025 some results from their review of the criteria, but we have not yet heard. Thank you.
So, Mr. Speaker, I last sat down with all of my education partners in November of 2025, and as you can imagine Jordan's Principle was a leading topic that we discussed. I've also had the opportunity to speak with multiple chairpersons of multiple education bodies about this same subject. And, really, from where I am at right now is requesting feedback on the support assistants initiative from education leaders across the territory. So I have asked them, how is it going, how has it worked out, and for their feedback on the program that we were able to stand up...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is the first year that Aurora College is doing their new online version of their adult learning, and so we'll have to kind of give it some time to see how this year goes, how the results fair out, and so as soon as I have some updated information from Aurora College, once they've had the time to assess, then I would happily share that with Members from the other side. I think it's going to be really interesting to see the growth of online in the Northwest Territories, especially as we see more programming at Aurora College also shift to some...
