Caroline Wawzonek

Member Yellowknife South

Deputy Premier
Minister of Finance
Minister of Infrastructure
Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation

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,  Minster 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

Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

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

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, so the funding that was flowing through the Department of ECE to cover well, to hopefully cover the insurance costs, which it was coming close, if not not covering already, is now going to show up in Finance because Finance is responsible for administering the costs of insurance. So you may well see this number well, you will see this number again when we get to the Department of Finance. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me again just turn to $21.4 million, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, again, I'm not sure that I have detail as to the exact month by month or week by week timeline of the project. I can perhaps send this to Mr. Courtoreille who may at least have some breakdown of the variants and would have some understanding of the timing. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I anticipate that that will depend project by project. I'm not sure if we could perhaps give some examples or if the Department of Finance might be able to give some examples. So I -- and certainly, we'd have to come in with some discussions with our -- the federal funders where that is the case. So I'll see if, again, if there's an example perhaps deputy minister might be able to provide.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, Madam Chair, most school facilities in the Northwest Territories are in fact part of the GNWT's general insurance program, and this had been an exception for YK1 and YCS here in Yellowknife because they own their assets. But that is now changing, and those assets are going to be brought in to the GNWT's portfolio. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So Madam Chair, that project has always been at a stage of planning and with a view towards getting permitting. So just looking at the number here, I do believe some of that has gotten done and some will continue into the into the next fiscal year. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Madam Chair, I mean ballpark figure, I'll have to confirm. I don't want to say yes and then have to be on the floor answering for why the numbers are wrong. I'd prefer to be exact. So I'll commit to getting those costs to the Member in terms of what those payments and fees are. What's happened here is that the project was at a stage where the costs needed to be put to be booked, and so they were booked, and so now it's just ahead of schedule. It was in one fiscal year when it was expected and planned to be in the next. So not an unexpected cost, nothing new, and nothing adding in a way that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, in past years, certainly last year, there was concerns raised about the fact that there were carryovers and that the carryovers of course don't come until fairly late in the cycle. So this was an effort to better reflect the work that is in fact ongoing, and so the department asked the Department of Finance asked all departments to make an effort to determine what their actual ongoing projects schedules would be so that projects that are not going to be advanced on this cycle could have their budgets adjusted now rather than having to be a carryover. So...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, again, I don't know if I have that level of detail here. But perhaps the Minister responsible for ECE might have some of that detail available to him. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 87)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I don't have the project detail here. Let me see perhaps if Mr. Courtoreille has that available to him.