Deputy Premier Minister of Finance Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation Minister Responsible for Strategic Infrastructure, Energy and Supply Chains
Caroline Wawzonek was first elected to the 19th Legislative Assembly in 2019 as the Member for Yellowknife South. Ms. Wawzonek served as Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister responsible for the Status of Women and the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment. In 2023, Ms. Wawzonek was acclaimed to the 20th Legislative Assembly and returned to Executive Council as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister Responsible for the NWT Power Corporation.
Ms. Wawzonek holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary (2000) and a law degree from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (2005). Her academic journey included language studies in China and Taiwan, as well as legal internships in the Philippines and England. Born in Calgary, AB, she has called Yellowknife home since 2007.
After establishing her criminal law practice post-admission to the Law Society of the NWT, Ms. Wawzonek appeared in all levels of NWT courts and engaged in circuit court travel. She later joined Dragon Toner, expanding her practice to general litigation and administrative law until becoming a member of the 19th Assembly.
Since 2007, she has taken on leadership roles in the legal community, including the presidency of the Law Society of the Northwest Territories (LSNT), section chair for the Canadian Bar Association Northwest Territories Branch (CBA-NT), and committee membership in various working groups. Her community involvement extends to appointments in multiple Yellowknife organizations, and she received a national award in 2017 for her contributions to Canadian Women in Law.
Ms. Wawzonek, a mother of two, enjoys running, paddleboarding, and time outdoors.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to say there are three pages here working from Yellowknife South. Always pleased to have their support and assistance. Michael Bell, Caleb Doering, and Seth Gordon. Thank you for all your help here today.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following four documents: Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 20232024; Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 4, 20232024; Restoring Balance: A Fiscal Sustainability Strategy for the 20th Legislative Assembly; and, Evacuation Support Program Data as of February 14th, 2024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's also some pretty exceptional examples of public/private partnerships that came in on time and on budget not the least of which is the Tlicho AllSeason Road. That said, I do agree that there is certainly a need to ensure that all capital planning has a good news story at the end of the day no matter what the financing arrangement might be. There's been some changes in the last Assembly to the capital planning process to have more planning, to have more dollars in the planning so that the cost estimates that we have are of a greater certainty and that...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is certainly a role that I think every Member of the House would be taking seriously, and I certainly would do so as well within my capacity. As part of the budgeting process, Mr. Speaker, I instituted and intend to continue doing a budget dialogue process. It's an opportunity where I have specific meetings with Indigenous governments here or within the Northwest Territories. I also have a separate specific meeting with NWTAC, the representation for the municipalities, then do public sessions and sessions with other stakeholders. These are going to be...
Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to speak to that. Mr. Speaker, I spent a fair bit of time in front of committee last Assembly. I expect I'll spend a lot of time in front of committee again. I've also already made efforts to share information with committee, both in terms of sharing the fiscal strategy, which I'll note, Mr. Speaker, in the past, certainly in the four years ago and my knowledge of past Assemblies, a fiscal strategy was not shared in advance, was not shared with committee, was not made public. We've already made better than that. We shared with committee. We then took it out to the public...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, any I think this actually often does come up in asking why we can't do multiyear contracts or multiyear funding agreements. Every appropriation is a year over year appropriation for the government. So in other words, we get the ability to spend public dollars only based on one year at a time approved here by the Legislative Assembly. So when we come forward in May/June, if the Legislative Assembly decides not to approve something that in this interim period we had proceeded with based on past activities or past practice, then those contribution agreements...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we're all happy to share on this side of the House. Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax regulations that were changed came about as a result, quite frankly, of a significant amount of outcry by the public. So it was very apparent that members of the public were wondering when they would see an equivalent amount of relief to what was being promised by other jurisdictions across Canada, the regulations lie within the Department of Finance to make those changes, and in response to what was really a very strong, very clear request from the public those changes were...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 6)
Sorry, Mr. Chair, I'm having some trouble hearing. I think it is actually maybe I think Mr. Courtoreille heard it so let me pass it over to him, please.
Pretty quiet whispers, Mr. Speaker. I don't think I've heard anyone whispering those words. Sales tax at this point would obviously have a pretty significant cost increase to individuals and residents. We are already finding that the cost of living anecdotally people say all the time the cost of living is very high. And the recent years and a number of challenges we faced have only made those challenges worse for everyone. So there's no whispers of a sales tax at this point, Mr. Speaker. We're going to have to see what we can do with the government to make sure that we're best utilizing our...
