Caroline Wawzonek

Députée de Yellowknife Sud

Première ministre adjointe
Ministre des Finances
Ministre responsable de la Société d’énergie des Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Ministre responsable de l’infrastructure stratégique, de l’énergie et des chaînes d’approvisionnement

Caroline Wawzonek a été élue pour la première fois à la 19e Assemblée législative en 2019, comme représentante de Yellowknife Sud. Elle a été ministre de la Justice, ministre des Finances, ministre responsable de la condition de la femme, et ministre de l’Industrie, du Tourisme et de l’Investissement. En 2023, Mme Wawzonek a été élue par acclamation à la 20e Assemblée législative et a réintégré le Conseil exécutif en tant que première ministre adjointe, ministre des Finances, ministre de l’Infrastructure et ministre responsable de la Société d’énergie des TNO.

Mme Wawzonek a obtenu un baccalauréat ès arts de l’Université de Calgary en 2000 et un diplôme en droit de la faculté de droit de l’Université de Toronto en 2005. Son parcours universitaire comprend des études de langues en Chine et à Taïwan, ainsi que des stages de droit aux Philippines et en Angleterre. Mme Wawzonek est née à Calgary (Alberta) et habite Yellowknife depuis 2007.

Une fois admise au Barreau des TNO, Mme Wawzonek a mis sur pied sa propre pratique du droit pénal et a plaidé à tous les échelons du système judiciaire des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, et s’est souvent déplacée dans les collectivités ténoises à cet effet. Elle a ensuite intégré le cabinet d’avocats Dragon Toner, élargissant sa pratique au litige général et au droit administratif jusqu’à ce qu’elle devienne députée de la 19e Assemblée.

Depuis 2007, Mme Wawzonek a assumé de nombreux rôles de leadership au sein de la communauté juridique : elle a notamment été présidente du Barreau des Territoires du Nord-Ouest et présidente de section pour la division des Territoires du Nord-Ouest de l’Association du Barreau canadien, et a participé à divers groupes de travail. Son engagement envers la collectivité l’a amenée à œuvrer dans de multiples organisations de Yellowknife et, en 2017, elle a reçu un prix national soulignant le travail de femmes canadiennes œuvrant dans le domaine du droit.

Mère de deux enfants, Caroline Wawzonek aime courir, faire de la planche à pagaie et passer du temps à l’extérieur.

Committees

Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife Sud
Bureau

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Boîte
1320
Extension
12177
Vice-premier ministre, Ministère des finances, Ministre de l'Infrastructure, Ministre responsable de la Société d'énergie des Territoires du Nord-Ouest

Déclarations dans les débats

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Always happy to take lessons learned. I would only, perhaps, suggest, if the Member wanted to follow up with me about, more specifically, what she is pointing at, that would only help us learn those lessons better. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not certain about the demolishing of the old one, although I know that the new facility is coming online in May 2021, so it may be that the demolishing of the old will coincide with the new. I can confirm if that's incorrect, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Yes, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. My understanding is that this funding is being used to help accelerate repairs, particularly on vacant units or units that required repairs to be liveable in order that, particularly, remote or rural communities would start to have necessary space for people who may need to self-isolate. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, it's done.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I agree that the point of doing studies of this nature is to promote a potential industry and not to simply hold the cards to our chest. That doesn't benefit the government if we are trying to support the growth of an economic sector; but, and just a small "but," because, again, we do want to be respectful and engage with the Indigenous governments who are, in many cases, owners of the land or owners of these resources, I just want to ensure that, whenever we have done studies that they may have contributed to or may be relying on, I do need to go back to them first...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Mr. Speaker, it's always a bit nerve-wracking when you hear that all you need to do is say yes. Let me take that back to have a discussion with Lands and see if there was some barrier there that I didn't understand and know what, in fact, that total budget line item is. I suspect it's not a huge ask, but again, I don't think that the Minister of Finance would be happy if I made commitments on the floor to commit money that I don't have a full grasp of. I certainly will commit to go back, get the numbers, and have a decision back to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Thank you, Madam Chair. There is, of course, the sustainability plan that has been put forward just in the last couple of months on behalf of the department of health, and to the extent that this is a significant cost driver, I am quite confident that this will be but one part of the larger investigation into what is driving the healthcare costs. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 70)

Yes, the staycations program that was supported last year through the Northwest Territories Tourism Association, which is the destination marketing organization, saw a lot of success. It was well-received on social media, traditional media, and we're certainly intending to do the same to see that it can, once again, try to encourage residents to go out and explore our own home and take advantage of opportunities here. To that extent, also again, a lot of the programs that were put in place in response to COVID-19 were to support the businesses to adapt, to pivot. We're, obviously, coming up on...