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, I certainly would hope so. There are 2.5 positions for economic development officers within Tlicho community, and the Tlicho communities also do have the Tlicho regional economic development working group that those economic development officers directly work with, and that is in support of the economic development strategy that was produced by the Tlicho government between 2022 and -- or for 2022 to 2027. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we do have a regional office that does travel into communities and work specifically with the ED -- sorry, the economic development officers that are also funded by ITI that work within the community, and that is afforded through the community transfer initiatives. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point I don't have specifics to share, but I mean, certainly there's been interest in everything from filling the space in its entirety or filling parts of the space. There's also been interest in using some of the facilities for something different that might speak to some of the needs in communities. So this has certainly started a lot of buzz and conversation about what the future of not only adult learning in communities looks like but also future uses of these facilities, which I think is really interesting, because I think it's...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question.
Mr. Speaker, under the Aurora College Act, the Aurora College board of governors is responsible for operational decisions of the college. So this was not a decision that was made by the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, so they wouldn't have done community engagement or consultations with communities for a decision that they did not make. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no concrete plan at this time until we determine some clarity around what (audio) continue to hold. There is an existing MOU and contribution agreement for Aurora College to deliver adult learning and basic education through the community learning centres. So if that is not an MOU that they intend to continue, ultimately ECE will still remain responsible for ensuring that there are education and employment opportunities within small communities, and so that work is yet to come. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am one who is eager to share my -- even my personal cell phone number with the people that I want to be working closely with. That is something that the chairperson certainly has. We also have a joint mandate agreement and the ability to get together on a regular basis and definitely try to get together on a regular basis or as much as possible.
In regards to the Member's comment about a mandate agreement, that is something that will be released within the coming week, and Members do have an embargoed copy within their inbox today.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I absolutely hear the Member, and I agree that the goal is to have a strategic plan go out where, you know, we're answering all of the questions that we know that residents are going to have about the forward looking of a program and what the future holds. Ultimately, ECE will remain responsible at the end of the day for ensuring that residents have access to quality programs that support education and employment, and so right now, the work that ECE is doing is gaining clarity on, you know, what parts of adult learning and basic education Aurora...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Member is in luck. The Minister of housing and I really enjoy working together. We have already had multiple conversations about this and have already provided direction to our departments and look forward to sitting down with the departments, continuing those conversations, and then being able to share the outcomes of those conversations with Members within probably the first or second quarter of this year. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is something that we've definitely heard from CDETNO, Chamber of Mines of the Northwest Territories, as well as -- or, sorry, Chamber of Commerce of the NWT and Chamber of Commerce of Yellowknife as well. But I want to be able to deliver the entire program and package to people so they're not getting information piecemeal. They're able to sit down, look at what the entire program will look like on relaunch, and be able to digest that information all at one time. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad that the Member asked the clarifying question because that's not what I said. So I want to be very clear that what that looks like going forward, I cannot say. I cannot say how those opportunities are going to be afforded to communities. I know that, for example, one of our community learning centres is currently being used as classroom space for some high school students in a community that very much needs it and very much needs that that part -- for that community learning centre to continue as that type of space. I can say that some Indigenous...
