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 136)

Mr. Speaker, the human resources and the representation of the population of the North within the public service has been something I've taken very seriously in this role and that the department takes seriously. The Affirmative Action Policy, as it is now, was from 1989. It is woefully out of date. It is not in keeping with best practices. It arguably may not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And it's not showing achievement. We know we're sitting at 30 percent representation of Indigenous people in a territory with 50 percent representation. So we...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I had two Indigenous governments reach out directly to my office to confirm that they wanted an opportunity to have a direct engagement on this. And I know that officials have also spoken with officials from the Department of Finance with respect to the engagements. And, Mr. Speaker, beyond that, though, with respect to what the reaction of individual members, groups, governments might be, that is not mine to presume or assume. What we have attempted to do, Mr. Speaker, is to design having both an Indigenous Employment Policy that is specific and to the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Mr. Speaker, last month I attended the annual Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup conference in Vancouver with fellow Cabinet Members and government officials. We were there to advance this Legislative Assembly’s priorities to increase resource exploration and development in our territory; adopt a benefit retention approach to economic development; make strategic infrastructure investments; and, to identify, prioritize, and strengthen key actions to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

Achieving meaningful progress on these multiple and complex...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Nahendeh, that Bill 62, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act, No. 2, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Mr. Speaker, carbon tax is coming. Mr. Speaker, the large emitters right now businesses don't have a special program under the federal system either. The federal government will decide where they want to put the money, how they want to put the money. Right now where we've seen them put their money is in electric vehicles, in heat pumps, which don't work in the Northwest Territories. So, Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure that that's necessarily the direction that we all want to go with. As I've said before, we have figured out what the fuel usages have been in the business sector and the private...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, even if we don't accept the proposal that we're putting forward, the tax rates will not change. The tax rates that are being put in place on April 1st from the federal government for carbon tax are coming. What we're trying to do, and what we've done is, particularly after discussions with Members, we're proposing to have a heating fuel offset that will be based on the average household heating usage in the high use zones, middle use zone, and the smaller use zone, which from our calculations, will cover the costs for residents of the increases to the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, they haven't asked us to take the airstrip. We haven't asked them to leave the airstrip. The land and water board, very clearly here, says that they had a requirement that they wanted Diavik to be open to it and Diavik has said that they're open to receiving something. But we're not asking for it. We're not looking for it. And nor have they asked us to take it. So for the third time, I think they are complying with what they've been asked to do by the water board, which is exactly what we expect of the mines that operate in the Northwest Territories, that...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the comment around the airstrip, I understand, arose with respect to materials that are now in the registry of the land and water board. Mr. Speaker, it's the land and water board that notes in its revision that it requires Diavik to include a statement of willingness to participate in discussions with government and other interested parties to assess the fate of the airstrip. So, Mr. Speaker, I gather that their statement of willingness to accept an expression of interest really is them complying with what is required of them by the land and water board...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, I do have a letter that I understood had gone to Members in October. Obviously, things don't always go perfectly, and I don't know where those letters sometimes go on the other side. But it was sent in October, alerting them to the fact this was coming. More correspondence was sent in January and February to update as to the progress. I don't have a final policy yet. That's exactly where we're at. We've got a sense of the two policies and what we expect to see in them and how they might work. But as for the final drafts, I don't have them yet. Before...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 136)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker, a letter was sent, firstly, to all Indigenous governments back in October. Around that time, there was also a letter sent to colleagues from all of the Assembly, letting them know that this work was underway. This was, of course, in response to a commitment made in this House, I believe by the Premier, with respect to the Affirmative Action Policy and saying that it was high time to get this work moving. And so that consultative process, as I said, began in October and is continuing now. Thank you.