Caroline Wawzonek

Députée de Yellowknife Sud

Circonscription électorale de Yellowknife Sud 

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

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
Mobile
Ministre

Déclarations dans les débats

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Yes, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you again, Madam Chair. I am here to present the Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 3, 2019-2020. The supplementary estimates document consists of two items, as follows:

$4.5 million for the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for increased grant-in-lieu of property tax payments to municipal taxation authorities under the Grants-in-Lieu of Property Taxes Policy. This increase is the result of increases to the assessment values for the City of Yellowknife. A significant portion of the increase is due to the new Stanton Territorial...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. There have been no discussions of any kind of freeze at this time. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I do think the question is clear. It is the percentage total that the Stanton Territorial Hospital is in the entirety of all grants-in-lieu paid by MACA to the City of Yellowknife. The Member is nodding his head, Madam Chair, so I am going to continue.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do actually have a note that says "slow" right on my desk, but I do apologize to the translators.

Mr. Speaker, I can see the A New Day programming is predominantly focused currently here in Yellowknife. For what it is worth to the Member, one of the newest places where that program is being offered is at the North Slave Correctional facility, and it does therefore target individuals who come from across communities all across the Northwest Territories. That said, obviously, it is quite different from being offered within the communities themselves.

I can say also that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. No one would like to avoid that more than me right now. Things that are being put into place, Madam Chair, we would include simply, really, that is the entirety of the budgeting strategy and the fiscal policy strategy and ensuring that, when we create a budget, the budget needs to do a better job of being accurate in terms of the estimates going forward. We are in a totally new position, a new government, a new administration, as well, and we have the opportunity to really evaluate and question each department that comes forward and ensure that, when they bring an...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Two parts: firstly, that the assessors are certified. These are external to the GNWT, and they are certified assessors, so that comes with it their own ethical obligations, obviously, to ensure that the information they are providing is fair and accurate. In addition to that, the Department of Finance is alive to the Member's concerns. I can assure the Member that there will be a process going forward, internally, to determine whether or not or under what circumstances an appeal would be appropriate, perhaps more formally than what has been done at least in the recent...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Mr. Speaker, the total budget for this program is $292,000. The current expenditures forecasted for 2019 and 2020 are $240,000, so that is where it stands at present.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. There are two different challenges. The short-term borrowing is in the Department of Finance, and that is so that the Department of Finance can manage the total finances of the Government of the Northwest Territories and be able to look at the totality of what is being demanded and needed in order to run all of the essential government programs and services, including the health authority, including their payroll, and that is the short-term borrowing aspect of it.

The health of the health department's finances is a long-term challenge, but that is not one that is being...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 1st Session (day 3)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Not entirely. I think it may depend on each municipality. In this particular instance, MACA and the municipalities do work together to have an assessor who comes in and does the assessments, so it is not accurate. I apologize if I said that it is not accurate to say it is done exactly the same as a private property would be made. The grants-in-lieu is part of a Government of Northwest Territories policy, and so MACA follows the policy in order to ensure that the grants-in-lieu are paid properly to the municipal governments, as is required by that policy.