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. Mr. Speaker, if the Member would like me to share with him the number of students that were returning when the program started versus last year, more than happy to do that. As far as reviewing a program that just ended, Mr. Speaker, we haven't really had space or time to see impacts of that. What is occurring here is now students who have repayable loans need to repay those loans, and students who have remissible loans are being asked to stay in the North longer in order to remiss those. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can share with the Member that since I started in this role, one of the common things heard at our FTP table is that this agreement -- or these agreements were signed before record inflation occurred and that, as I had previously said, jurisdictions are putting more and more money into this program in order to make it work. So that is something that I will certainly continue to share with the federal government at every opportunity that I do get at these tables what the reality is that we are hearing from our childcare providers. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, from the agreement that we as provinces and territories have with the federal government for childcare, we aren't allowed to charge additional fees. The piece that keeps coming back out is places can do fundraising. I do understand, though, Mr. Speaker, as a working parent myself who uses different entities to care for my children, that this is very difficult to do. We also know that many sporting institutions do charge fundraising fees if parents aren't able to do fundraising. And so in answer to the Member's question, I am currently looking into...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that new legislation will not be released in March of 2025. It still needs -- it's GNWT legislation so it still needs to go through GNWT protocols. It will be tabled in the House here and then will go to standing committee as per our usual protocols. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too would like the same things as the Member. The stipulation of no additional fees being charged is in the Canada-wide agreement and any additional fees that are charged must be deducted by the primary fees that are being charged to the parents. So we are in a situation where we need to figure out how to create sustainability and stability within our own system but ensure that we are, at the end of the day, following that agreement. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, the Canada-wide agreement with the GNWT solely dictates that we must have a wage grid, but it doesn't say where that wage grid starts and where it ends. That is solely dictated by our pocketbooks. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I spoke to yesterday about the different training opportunities that ECE does have, there are supports for businesses who are -- or employers, rather, and also Indigenous governments and community organizations, that would like to deliver training and on-the-job supports for staff. There's also wage subsidies that are available to staff as well. And certainly through a program like this, those subsidies would still be available as well. Thank you.
Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are working to achieve a new multi-year funding agreement before the end of this current fiscal year. The Department of Education, Culture and Employment has had a great working relationship with Dechinta over the last decade, includes currently the two-year contribution agreement which the Member is talking about which concludes at the end of this fiscal year. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's a 54-hour course that people without post-secondary education are required to complete in order to be considered certified under the new system and the new regulations. And so those 54 hours, if somebody works for a centre-based system, their operator determines if they are able to use centre-based time to do that. There is no difference in the amount that is paid to the centre. And then in addition for people who are day home operators, they receive two training days, and they're able to use that time to complete the course should they wish, and that...
