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. In regards to the new programming that Aurora College is envisioning for the community learning centres, Aurora College board of governor chairperson, chair -- well, sorry, I won't say names. But the chairperson, along with the president, will be in front of committee tomorrow morning, and they intend to present their plan to the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what we do is we sit down, we send out a survey to all of our education bodies and speak with them about what their needs are, and at that time education bodies, the DECs and DEAs, are able to identify what it is that they are requiring and where they're at. We also work with the Department of Infrastructure and go through the condition ratings of the schools. And then we also, to be quite honest, look at the priorities of the Assembly. I can tell you that education and having safe spaces for school -- for students across the territory is...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And thank you to the Member for the question.
While I can't speak to the exact process that would have occurred in the 1970s, I'm very excited that the process has certainly changed today. We're currently working -- one of the capital projects that we're currently working on is the new school for Colville Lake. And that process is taking on a much different life and one that I am very excited about, and I am very excited to say that those conversations are going very well.
And so the Department of Education, Culture and Employment is working alongside the...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've had the great privilege of travelling to some of the Monfwi communities in the previous term with the Member and have committed as well to doing the same this year and would be more than happy to follow the Member's leads on any conversations that the Member would like to see happen in the community while we are there. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, this is a conversation specifically one around health care workers that's currently happening in the context of labour mobility and how we go about doing some work both under the envelope of Team Canada to ensure that we're aligned at the end of the day and to ensure that we are moving forward in a way that respects the diversities of regions across Canada. As you can imagine, every time we peel back a layer, there's another one underneath it. It's a bit of a national onion but certainly a very important one that we work through, and health...
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the last evaluation and review of that program was done in the 19th Assembly when the previous Minister reviewed the income security programs. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this one falls under my ECE hat. There are other jurisdictions that have overarching labour mobility pieces of legislation, and the Member is absolutely right, we in the territory don't have a piece of this legislation as it stands today so that is certainly something that is being considered. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, absolutely. So since 2020, I can confirm that ITI has contributed over $700,000 to the Inuvik greenhouse, $54,000 of which this fiscal to support the purchase of plants, and we're constantly working with regional offices and communities to figure out what the community-driven initiatives are and how we at ITI can get behind them. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, strengthening internal trade is essential to ensuring that businesses across Canada can grow, compete, and thrive. With the United States' decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports and the Canadian government's counter-tariffs, Canada urgently needs to strengthen our internal trade framework. Studies show that eliminating interprovincial trade barriers could add billions to Canada's gross domestic product annually, lower consumer costs, and improve supply chain resilience. The committee on internal trade is the place where federal, provincial, and territorial...
