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 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, there was a federal-provincial-territorial meeting just not that long ago in Vancouver, and it certainly I think was reflective that the experience across much of Canada is similar to ours, which is we're seeing a return to some degree, but also acknowledging that a lot of the operators are not uniformly back to where they were and necessarily uniformly back to being in a position to welcome back the tourists who do seem to be coming back in terms of the demand. So there is still some disconnect in that respect. We're not alone in experiencing that.

As far...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe it is open at least largely open, to be this summer, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I mean, yes, I certainly also hope that tourism continues to move forward. Right now there is I mean, NWT Tourism does do the lion's share, really, of all of our marketing. That was divested to them some years ago as being a specialty area that they can focus on. There is Northwest Territories, the Tourism 2025 still in play right now, which is still being implemented and there's funding for its implementation, and there's quite a number of funding programs still here for incomers to the industry. So, you know, and the funding has continued to increase...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So, again, Madam Chair, would look to pointing again to the list of funding programs that are going to be provided to all Members. But perhaps I'll turn to the deputy minister and see if she can add something more specific at this point. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mean, there certainly are funds from CanNor that do come through at various points for various initiatives. Let me see if the deputy minister can speak to whether she knows what they may have funded for the City of Yellowknife.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 141)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I completely agree. There is the Tourism NWT conference bureau that sits within NWT Tourism. What I'd suggest is perhaps ensuring that there's a more direct connection between the conference bureau, which admittedly was not seeing a significant amount of incoming conferences here during COVID but is back to work now and looking forward. So perhaps making sure that they can confirm with me, again on my list of things I want to talk to them about, that they have a direct liaison to the Town of Fort Smith and to the facilities that are there. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 140)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So I mean, some of this will be owing to historical funding arrangement. I would note with respect to Northwest Territories Tourism as an organization specifically, the function of providing marketing and promotion of tourism was handed over to Northwest Territories Tourism. So they do get a larger proportion of funding in that respect because they don't have some of the programs and services or rather, they are undertaking programs and services that used to at one time be done by the GNWT and therefore are an organization that is actively acting in our stead whereas ITI...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 140)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, again, I'm happy to hear the support for the SEED program. Again, recognizing it's popular but recognizing, too, that there was a desire just to make sure that that fund is actually being effectively used. We want to make sure that those that are getting the money are using it in a way that grows businesses, in a way that supports local economies. There are some that are frequent returners to the program and that may or may not be the best use of public dollars to actually grow a marketplace economy. But these are all questions that need to be answered in a methodical...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 140)

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I believe that the CFIA process is on track in terms of timing. Whether it has already happened or whether it's scheduled to happen, I can confirm that possibly in advance of appearing on ITI's main estimates this afternoon, Madam Speaker. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 140)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, at this point, the paper and the consultation process around coming up with a bit more of a strategy, that is being done in house. No further funds are required in this respect. It is an area where I can say there has been a fair bit of interest from the federal government with CanNor and with CIRNAC. There is what's called the SPI funding and I'm going to get the acronym wrong SPI funding, which is an area of strategic partnership initiative funding, which we expect could well support some training if that is what's required. But, really, at this point the...