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 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So the Member is right, there's two different types of assessments. So there's a routine assessment that is done on an expected five-year cycle. And so it is the goal of approximately 20 percent of our schools get done annually by the Department of Infrastructure for those types of assessments. Then there's also a technical assessment that the Member's referring to that is far more detailed, and that is done before a school undergoes a retrofit or a replacement so that we have a very detailed account of what is happening within that school envelope. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the way that we are handling this so far is through operations and maintenance funding through the Government of the Northwest Territories. So that's mitigation through flushing protocols, through the addition of point-of-use filters in our schools as well. And so any kind of need aside from that, if there was a greater need, would have to come forward in a supplementary appropriation.
And through yourself, Mr. Chair, I would love to open it up to the deputy minister given that I know how important this is and how relevant this is right now. So I...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. All of that account is from Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, with both Yellowknife school boards, that being YK1 and YCS, ECE is currently working with Infrastructure as well as the school boards. And maybe if I can separate those out into YK1 and YCS.
So with YK1, ECE is working with the school board and the Department of Infrastructure to work on specifically one of the roofs. They're finalizing an MOU between the GNWT and the school board to coordinate funding and project management of the work. So that is underway. And then in addition to that, ECE is working with the other school board, so that's...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the information that I have in front of me here is that the current utilization rate for the Whati school is about 78 percent capacity is filled, and the school that we're currently focusing on in the Monfwi riding is Chief Jimmy Bruneau School which is currently above 90 percent utilization rate. And so we are currently working closely with Tlicho government on their plans for how they would like to see Chief Jimmy Bruneau School renovation done in the future and have worked with Tlicho government, not just locally here but also...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this project will have multiple improvements for accessibility to Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. And the project is 100 percent funded through Investing in Canada infrastructure fund. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, the process that we follow is when we're getting ready to put forward the asks for the capital budget is we go back out to all of the education bodies and ask them to work with their staff on any kind of school improvements that they would like to see, and then go through the list from there. And so a lot of the -- not a lot of, most of what you see on this list is really focused on safety and accessibility, and that's how we've prioritized the improvements to the school and how we've prioritized our limited small capital funding. Traditionally...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Yes, please, Mr. Chair.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 69)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, we wouldn't be able to start this project until this item is approved under the approval of the capital budget. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to the Member for bringing back the question. Mr. Speaker, there is currently, to be quite frank, no mechanism for education, culture and employment to pay for those fees. The way that this program is structured is to pay a portion of a student's post-secondary costs but not the entirety of the cost of their post-secondary education. And so the theory there is that as soon as their student financial assistance would come in that would reimburse some of their savings that they had to also pay for their student -- or sorry, for their tuition costs. Thank you...
