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

Board of Management
Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Email
Office
(867) 767-9143
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation
Mobile
867-445-7437
Minister
Email
Email

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, this one, I'll be frank, is not my favorite one to have to explain. It does go directly to the public accounts and to the public accounting standards, and there's been a now change within the public accounting standards that requires that asset retirement obligations be booked in a way that they weren't before.

So there does need to be as a result of that what is a onetime adjustment to the capital estimates. That's the $70 million that you're seeing. And what that does is it's providing a way of reporting on the  to the public in the books what is anticipated to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So Madam Chair, the MARS project for one of the more significant aspects of it certainly is to bring online staking to the Northwest Territories, which really brings us up to par on something that we are rather painfully behind on, that allows for a much more efficient system and a much more efficient process for those that are actually out doing the staking and for prospectors will hopefully, as I said, bring us into the modern age but also encourage those who are out to be doing to be out and doing the prospecting. It allows for more efficient management of the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, on your right is Pamela Strand, deputy minister for Industry, Tourism and Investment. And on your left is Nina Salvador who is the director of finance and administration.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm happy to provide the breakdown, certainly.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this is chief information officer Rick Wind.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Madam Chair, let's send that one over to the deputy minister, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Total project cost is $19.7 million, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, there's been a number of inquiries I think probably led by MLA from Yellowknife North on exactly this issue and from constituents on that riding. I am also frequently on that road. I am well familiar with it.

There is signage in the works right now, Madam Chair. But that doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot of money fortunately. So that one's in the works.

As far as creating parking, new parks, new facilities, that -- it requires land, and that is more complicated than just taking over the land that is obviously there. So ITI is working with ENR, with...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, if I might suggest if we could stop the clock briefly. I was hoping to switch my witnesses out, and I don't want to take time away from the Member to do that.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 83)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I wish I could just go "yeah," again. Not quite.

Contaminated sites, for example, are accounted for differently. I think other it's just that yeah, and maybe that actually does go to the it does go to some of the questions that the MLA for Frame Lake was asking, is that there are different standards that attach to different sites depending on the nature of the site. But here what we have is just, you know, assets that didn't previously have accounted for the fact that there's a legal liability at some point to, you know, retire the asset.

So this is...