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, when we sat in this room back when that first came up when we were reviewing the main estimates, it was discussed that there was a desire to seek wage parity between centre-based providers and people who were working as classroom assistants in our JK to 12 education system. As it stands, our home-based educators have already achieved that parity based on their higher aftertax income that they do have. However, our centre-based providers still do make less than our education assistants. And so the goal there is to use that $3.5 million that, thank...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is right; they're not social workers but they do a very good job at the work that they do and they're very committed to the work that they do. They are committed to making sure that they let residents know what opportunities there are because there are other people in communities and other people within departments who do have things like access to the programs that I spoke about and who also have access to different workshops that are happening in communities. So, for example, Prosper NWT has delivered workshops to over 150 people last...
Thank you for the question, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, this work is already being done. I would say that it is not potentially conversations that are happening in public realms, but I can assure the Member that conversations around different avenues to access student housing are occurring with the board of governors, specifically with the chair and with the president. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I guess I should start off thanking Members for giving me this area here to champion the college on a regular basis here in the House. I do see transformation of Aurora College as an incredible opportunity for the territory because our students deserve to have quality access to great programs, and that is part of the transformation, is the programming as well.
Given the arm's length relationship with Aurora College, I have met with the board of governors on a regular basis and have reiterated to the chair, but also the entire board, that when they...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are some community learning centres which are leased within communities and some where the infrastructure's owned by the GNWT. So in instances where it is leased by the Government of the Northwest Territories for the purpose of a CLC, the lease will be terminated. And in the instance where it is owned, we have been -- we have had outreach from Indigenous governments, communities, and organizations, and they've been in contact with both ECE and Aurora College, and they've let known what their interests are in some of those facilities. Now, of course...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I can say that, yes, operating as a college requires that the institution be established in legislation. And as far as timelines, it really depends on how that work progresses and so I would love to report back on that progress to the Member. But currently, there is a quality assurance process that must be undertaken, and ECE is working closely with Dechinta through this process. 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...
