Member Yellowknife South

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.
 

Committees

Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't know that that's a specific action item right now under the Indigenous Recruitment and Retention Framework, but it is certainly in keeping with the spirit of that framework. So certainly, as I've said, we do right now track, through ECE's official languages guideline, a list of communities that have different needs for languages but our understanding of the role of language and the place of language as part of delivering public service, I think is only ever improving. We can certainly continue to do a better job of that and to expand. So I'll...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what I'd like to say is I'm going to make a commitment to looking at the impact of the policy. I don't know exactly yet what the parameters of it or a full review would be or where it might fit. But I certainly agree that if a public servant speaks one of our official languages, they should be receiving some sort of recognition for that. And if right now we're not achieving that through the way that the policy is being applied, then from what I understand of the policy and its overall intent, then I certainly do think that we can look at better...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have a page from Yellowknife South here again, Cayley Ibusosch is with us. If we could recognize her today, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax fails to recognize that the Northwest Territories residents, the majority of whom are Indigenous, do not have access to alternative heating fuels, have no ability to lower their heating costs. Some of our communities are literally falling into the Arctic Ocean and others are being washed away by unprecedented flooding. All are facing the increased financial burden of adapting to and mitigating the risks of a warming climate. But none of our communities contribute meaningfully to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, and none are responsible for...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 152)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 89, Appropriations Act (Operations Expenditures), 20232024, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 20232024 fiscal year. It also sets out limits on amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner on behalf of the government, includes information in respect of all existing borrowing and all projected borrowing for the fiscal year and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the principal of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I am here to present Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Petroleum Products and Carbon Tax Act.

This bill addresses amendments to update the Northwest Territories carbon tax rate schedule to meet the revised federal carbon pricing benchmarks from April 1, 2023 to April 1, 2030.

The sole purpose of Bill 60 is to keep the Northwest Territories carbon tax rates in compliance with the federal government's carbon pricing commitments, including not returning the carbon tax revenues into the economy in a way that negates the carbon price signal.

Passage of Bill 60 is a...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, when I attend federalprovincialterritorial meetings of Ministers, I am proud to tell colleagues from across Canada that we are in fact a perpetual minority government. I am proud of this fact because I can also say that we have always passed not only the operations budget every year but also, separately and additionally, a capital budget. These budgets may not pass unanimously but they pass through a consensus process of review, information exchange, and discussion. And when I describe the kind of expectations we entrust on MLAs to receive and hold...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 87, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) No. 3, 20222023, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for operations expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 20222023 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Three times a charm. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to present to the House Bill 88, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 20232024, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 151)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 86, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 20222023 to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.