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
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Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this too is not a new not a new topic of discussion for me in the House with the Member and I acknowledge that this is a longstanding concern that's been raised on his behalf at least with respect to whether ITI should, in fact, be the department leading this.

Mr. Speaker, royalty regime, royalty review is highly technical. When we're doing the procurement review, this is procurement for every department, for the whole of government, and certainly it involved all different types of industries in terms of all procurement that's happening in all industries...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

For.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 51: Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures), 20222023, be read for the second time.

This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 20222023fiscal 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 a fiscal year, and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

In favour.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the following three documents: Value of Work Completed Under the Work Credit Program 20152022; Northwest Territories Action Plan for Promoting Critical Minerals: What We Heard Report; and Northwest Territories Action Plan for Promoting Critical Minerals Appendix: Participants Comments from Critical Minerals Workshop, November 9th, 2021. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'll sort of reference again a bit of what happened more under COVID19 not as a full response. I realize that what's happening now is different but I want to give the example so that folks know exactly the approach that this government plans to take and that I would it be taking with the departments for which I am responsible.

When we came back in January and omicron was still rearing its head, no one quite knew how that would unfold, I asked that we make a point to check in with the chambers of commerce so that we could better understand directly from them...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we are constantly revising both the fiscal framework for the GNWT and revising the general outlook for the economy. We are doing that work, both the Department of Finance's responsible in terms of understanding our revenue forecast, you know, understanding our growth and our expenditures, the impacts of, you know, fuel costs, inflation, interest costs on us. I know that that work also happens at ITI in terms of understanding costs to business, understanding impacts, again for instance freight costs, transportation costs. And similarly, Mr. Speaker, I know...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 111)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, folks at home will sometimes hear us saying that we had questions in advance. I do want to acknowledge that the Member does give a bit of a head's up, and that's helpful for the more technical questions like this. It's not that we necessarily know the flavour that we're going to hear in the House but, Mr. Speaker, I have been doing some work to try to figure out exactly what has what more we could do to provide more and further information.

It's certainly my preference to be able to provide more and further information to members of the public or members of...