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. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm for the Member that I am absolutely, yes, committed to a community-based approach to adult learning. The closure of the community learning centres certainly came to a shock to everybody but certainly also present an opportunity to rethink how adult education is being delivered in communities across the Northwest Territories, especially small communities.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I try to talk about things like SNAP as much as I can in the House to the point where I feel like sometimes I must drive my colleagues a little bit nuts, and I hope they are all well acquainted with SNAP. I've also done things like send out information through email to Members so that they've got the information at their fingertips. And it's also shared with schools through career and education advisors who work directly with our students across the Northwest Territories. But I do agree that I think there is always ways that we can better...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, within my jurisdiction as Minister, I provide authority for the college to open campuses in certain communities in the Northwest Territories. So through my role, there is a designation of Yellowknife as a campus location. The board of governors is working on further details as to where and what and when that work happens as far as a North Slave campus. I can report to the House, as has been reported in multiple media outlets as well, that the board of governors is currently very hard at work on a North Slave campus and what those options might be...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in December of 2025, Aurora College, as part of one of its major milestones, welcomed the CAQC Council to the Northwest Territories. This council is made up of academics and persons from other polytechnics who have been experienced in transitions of colleges into polytechnic universities, and they came up to do their work with Aurora College. And that work is currently underway. They were provided some follow-up items from the council, and we're expecting to hear more publicly about that in the spring this year. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that this conversation is definitely live with not just myself but also with my Cabinet colleagues, and I can also confirm that I am very focused on supporting the Department of Education, Culture and Employment to move forward with the inclusive schooling review and to really walk the line between making sure that we do that as quickly as possible but also making sure that we are very thoughtful and purposeful in our actions, because this is not a band-aid solution. It is a complete shift in changes that are needed to our education...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the timing of the changes to Jordan's Principle, along with some work that was already being done within the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, really was a bit of a blessing in disguise. So we were already in the process of reviewing our inclusive schooling directive. And that really is where, I feel, we need to focus our energy in, so that we're not looking at band-aid solutions but we're looking at really evolving how our inclusive schooling program works in the Northwest Territories.
I can share with the Member that just literally...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have not received an update from the federal government on when I can expect, along with the rest of the country, to receive information on an updated criteria for Jordan's Principle. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, that plan is being worked out right now, so that includes some of the things that I just spoke of, like those partnerships with the literacy council, the outreach centres, but also it really comes down to work directly with communities and Indigenous governments so that we can use this as an opportunity to reimagine what that in-person learning can look like in small communities. And so we're working both on kind of short-term and more medium-term approach to this, and I am hoping to have something to come back to Members, and I will continue to update...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I don't just talk in the House about SNAP; I also speak to all of my colleagues. I've sat down with the Minister of housing, I've sat down with the -- well, Minister of strategic infrastructure when she was the Minister of Infrastructure, sat down with the Minister, as well, of Finance, who is also the Minister of human resources, to ensure that the government is also playing a part when it comes to making sure that we're supporting the growth of apprentices. A lot of times people in communities who are journeypersons, who are Red Seal...
