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. Chair. Mr. Chair, certainly when looking at, you know, the trajectory of how a lot of these roles are moving, a lot of -- we've got a number of secondments right now from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment to Indigenous governments and to hamlets, and so we've taken staff members out of headquarters and put them in with Indigenous governments and specifically staff that Indigenous governments have specifically requested because they have a built and trusted relationship with those staff members. Some of them are also part of their Members that they...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, my previous response I alluded to some of those. So that was the reduction in the party-specific exceptions, the Canada Mutual Recognition Agreement that was signed across the country on goods. There was also the labour mobility laws that were imposed in other jurisdictions. And that has an impact here in the Northwest Territories because a lot of times we are relying on the capacities of other jurisdictions to do some of our regulating of professions here in the Northwest Territories.
We also saw the successful conclusion of the financial services...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So some examples of some tangible results have been things like the regulatory streamlining partnership between the feds and the GNWT that's currently underway, the exploration data bundle that we just released at Roundup, boards working to build online tool pathways to make it easier for regulatory -- or sorry, for proponents to pursue their land use water licensing permits, and another example of that would be the targeted amendments that are currently being made to the Waters Act. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The communications position is a two-year term position. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, for all the finer details on this one, I'd like to pass to the deputy minister.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the answer is yes, we have increased the funding through our film program substantially, and so we require an additional staff member in order to process those applications and ensure that we are making solid investments with public dollars. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So we have our regional superintendents, and so the regional offices that support each region are -- those positions are found there. Within this division specifically, it's a regulatory division, and so the staff of this division end up serving the entire Northwest Territories. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I will begin my statement today in Dene Suline.
Mr. Speaker, [Translation] INSERT* [Translation Ends].
Mr. Speaker, Indigenous languages in the Northwest Territories are at a critical point. NThe 2025 Community Survey shows declining numbers of speakers in every region of this territory. This trend is real, and it is concerning. But it also strengthens our determination. Indigenous governments, elders, community organizations, schools, and language workers are leading the way, and the GNWT is committed to walking alongside them. This is also work we are legally and morally obliged...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, we all have things that keep us up at night, and this is one of mine.
Mr. Chair, we are at an exciting crossroads as far as the Northwest Territories is concerned. We are definitely at a -- as the Member reflected on earlier, a different -- seeing diamond mines close at a different pace than what we had anticipated. We are also acknowledging that we need to maintain that workforce of northern workers in order to be able to capture the opportunity that we see coming toward us. And so that is making sure that people have employment to go straight into so...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 83)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the NWT has a diverse economy. We don't have a diverse GDP. So we have businesses that are involved in arts. We have businesses that are involved in tourism, construction, retail, too much public administration if I may say so. But we certainly are doing a lot of things to do with making sure that we're working to diversify our GDP, which is where I think the difference really needs to be noted there. So, you know, making sure that we're building on our strengths, that we are noting where we're seeing major multiplier impacts in the territory. So...
