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 , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So that was a one-time contribution because of the losses that arose from having a low water season. Now, we are planning this year around low water from the perspective of our fuel services division and ensuring that we bring a full 100 percent value of fuel into those communities that would have otherwise depended upon reservicing, certainly in the Sahtu, from having the barges on the anticipation that we may face, again, a low water season. The High Arctic communities are not expected at this point to require anything other than barging and so in that sense, we would...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, again, Mr. Chair, for this year's budget, there's -- the core programs do remain there. With respect to future funding or future initiatives, obviously any future initiatives come through a business planning process for 2026-2027. And comments duly noted. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's a number of initiatives that are underway by the government. We have, if I'm not mistaken, in the last five years spent over $60 million in different energy efficiency programs, including renewable heat, renewable energy and, for example, biomass boiler installation, LED lighting replacements in a number of areas. There's a push towards some solar energy and being able to interconnect those systems in to our existing energy infrastructure, so again -- and supporting communities in their efforts to move towards having, again, their own opportunities...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm going to turn it to the A-Team. Let me start with deputy minister Loutitt, please.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the low-income program to address energy poverty, that does continue to have the same $200,000 amount that is -- was in place since 2023-2024. That has not changed. The other programs, to the extent that there were federal funds available, I mean, Mr. Chair, you know, I -- I can only say, as I said to the other Member, I was surprised given what seemed to be the current federal government's interest in this space that this received such a drastic reallocation of funding. I say reallocation because as I understand it, the money that went to the low carbon economy...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha, that Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we do conduct daily inspections on the highway network. You know, exactly where staff might be on any one given day, I don't want to be overcommitting. I would acknowledge that we don't necessarily have enough staff to be on every stretch of highway all the way from the border throughout the Beaufort Delta region, but there are staff out on those highways on a regular basis. So I believe I have suggested before we can try to keep Members better up to date in terms of where we're trying to be, and I'll try to see if I can get a specific schedule to the...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, Mr. Chair, there certainly has been several years of challenge in this space. There's, you know, obviously when the water levels are low, not only does it impact on the revenue that we would normally bring in but we then also wind up incurring the higher costs to ensure resupply still is completed. So a bit of a double hit in that respect.

Some of the things, though, that are happening in this space, Mr. Chair, there has been a governance review completed, and I know we've had the opportunity, as mentioned, to be in front of committee on this. It's examining what kind...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have certainly raised this both with Minister Guilbeault and Minister Wilkinson. It is quite frustrating as I understand that the federal government reallocated the money that previously was under this fund to areas that were not beneficial to the Northwest Territories, certainly not in ingrowth equal amounts, for example with respect to diverting it to heat pump initiatives that while we will certainly continue to investigate the ability and the applicability of heat pumps to the Northwest Territories, there are regions for which the current technology is not...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the challenge with SNAP students specifically -- which is an area that is, you know, has an opportunity for growth -- is that these students are under casual contracts which means that they can't be -- that they have to be rehired after a period of time. But I think there has been some recent movement on that. I'll perhaps suggest I'll turn to the deputy to speak to that a bit further, please.