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. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, it's thank you to Regular Members who negotiated the additional $3.5 million for the wage enhancement that was negotiated last year as part of our budget negotiations. And at that time, it was found that home-based early childhood educators currently had higher after tax net income compared to centre-based facility childhood educators, and so the $3.5 million for wage parity adjustment was used for the wage grid in order to bring up their annual net income so that it was more in line with our JK -- or sorry, junior kindergarten -- sorry...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, currently in the Northwest Territories -- and I believe I shared this statistic last night -- there's over 330 apprentices in the Northwest Territories; a number I think that we should all be very proud of and continuously working to see that grow. 47 percent of those apprentices are Indigenous NWT residents. And currently right now we're in the middle of a two-year extension to our apprenticeship trade and occupational certification strategy. And so surely at the end of that strategy, we'll be looking for a reset and this is a great time to...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're always working on trying to work with people who are interested in opening up spaces to try and encourage them and support them in that. We currently have five proponents right now that are working with the department to try and open up spaces that are both in and outside of Yellowknife, and I'm very hopeful that they will see great success.
In addition to that, Mr. Speaker, we also do have our infrastructure funding, and I'm also always looking for creative ways to work with my colleagues who are building things in communities and trying to...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, at my fingertips right here, I couldn't share with the Member the history on when that was increased. But I do believe that there was work done on this in the 19th Assembly. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I just had a meeting yesterday at an FTP table for the federal labour Ministers' meeting where we did talk about labour market agreements, and we continuously bring that up with the federal government. There's also discussions with Canada Council of Directors of Apprenticeship, Skills Canada, and other groups as well who are really strong advocates in their sector and ones that we try to work with to gain additional funding.
In addition to that, we've submitted two proposals to CanNor that were submitted for recent calls. One of them spoke...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So when we did receive that funding within education, culture and employment, it was indicated that it would need to be a go-forward funding, not just a one-off funding. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is what is ultimately the most important here.
Mr. Speaker, in relation to the entire legislation, ECE is working in consultation with Indigenous governments, and that work and the speed of that work will really be determined through the protocols with Intergovernmental Council. Specifically for this individual case here, you have the absolute commitment of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and myself to work as quickly as possible through the decision points that do remain but also with the associated consultation that needs...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Yes.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, can I pass to the deputy minister to speak in detail on this one. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 45)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, increases to minimum wage are certainly incredibly important. They allow us to stay competitive as a jurisdiction across Canada, and so I think, you know, not only comparing ourselves as far as the formula and to previous years within ourselves but making sure that we're also comparing ourselves to other jurisdictions across Canada is incredibly important. I think what the Member might be leading me towards is conversations on a living wage versus minimum wage, and certainly there is a discrepancy between the two of those, but I do absolutely...
