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
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
The short answer, yes, this is something that is on top of their other duties for sure. But the other side of this is because we are currently the national chair for committee on internal trade, we are also able to pull on the CIT budget in order to -- we're not expected to fund these additional meetings, which I think is a positive for the territory.
The other piece of this is this was also the area where immigration used to sit within the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and that portion has now been pulled over to ECE, so it does narrow their focus somewhat. And I can say they...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So these changes took effect last year, in the fall of last year, and so they're still certainly in their infancy as people get used to them and as we see how they're impacting communities. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, as a business owner who has actually dabbled in the SEED program, I certainly have my own ideas of how to improve the program. The program itself is not meant to be something that people apply for every year. It is meant to be a piece that really propels businesses to the next level. There are Northerners who have used SEED program in order to write business plans and get support in that sense to ensure that they are putting together a business idea and the supports that go along with it that make a robust and self-reliant business plan at the end...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, we can certainly help in the form of a business plan to ensure that all options are considered and that, you know, there's a robust plan that goes with it. I know that in the Member's area, there is incredible areas to go and visit. There's incredible artists. I know when I am in the region and I'm -- I get to see some earrings and stuff, I always wish I could buy them all, and so I think something like that would be incredibly successful. And so I would certainly say that having a conversation with the regional office and there can be conversations...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that would be a pretty significant budgetary ask and, at the same time, a building is just a building without the staff that need to go along with it. So that is not a question that I have an answer to right here on the floor of the House, and I think certainly would have more information as more of these details get ironed out. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Well, Mr. Chair, I'm not shy to ask for money; that's for sure, and I'm sure my Cabinet colleagues would confirm that.
In my short time as Minister of ITI, we've managed to take this fund from $100,000 to $500,000 and now this year to $1 million. And so we're seeing a continued significant amount of investment in it, acknowledging that the benefits are huge and not just for the North Slave region but for the whole territory.
Through a CanNor investment, we were able to work with a location scout who travelled the territory and actually created a bank of...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't go without saying an acknowledgement of Shawna Lampi-Legaree. I've had the honour of knowing her for decades, and it's always a great light to get to see her in person. So thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, we go out with an RFP to do a complete review of this program in April of this year. And with that, we will do a very robust review of the SEED program with the intent of releasing a new policy next year. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 52)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, it's certainly up to the community, and we're always happy to lend some suggestions and some expertise from our staff, and we can certainly support through a contribution agreement. But ultimately it is up to the community. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my concern is implementing or agreeing to something on the floor of the House without doing my due diligence because in the end, we could end up having our agreement cancelled which costs this territory and families in this territory a tremendous amount of money. We would risk losing our agreement with Canada if we are found to be in contravention of it. So I want to ensure that I'm doing my due diligence before making an $80 million mistake. Thank you.
