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.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is no surveillance being conducted. Mr. Speaker, I understand that these meeting minutes continue to be a source of great consternation. They are minutes. They are taken by a note taker, they are not transcripts, and they certainly are not something to which I would say speak on my behalf about what the department is or is not doing or the priorities of the department. So just to put that context on the quotes that are coming, again there are notes taken by someone at a meeting.
That said, Mr. Speaker, philanthropic organizations, this quote, this has...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there are meetings between officials happening across sectors. So the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in particular, meets with Northwest Territories Tourism on a very regular basis. They are funded to do the majority of the marketing on behalf of the Northwest Territories and are really a key partner involved in understanding what's happening in that industry.
So what I understood last week's conversation to be about maybe reaching out individually to some of the operators who might not be as directly involved in the tourism association. I...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is work that was done by the three territories jointly, along with the federal government, and funding was provided accordingly. The statement of work, requirement of work was drafted jointly by the three territories. I think that was a working group in fact, and then with funding. So as the project went underway, and was already conceptualized, most certainly they did go and ask industry who should be participating. The purpose of the study was to determine how to increase investment in exploration and the mineral resource sector in the three...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the office of the chief public health or the Office of the Chief Public Health Authority or office, that is the entity that is solely responsible for determining the risk factors under which the current restrictions are created, what they contain, and that is because we've always put our faith in the hands of medical science and not necessarily in politicians to be making those determinations. That said, Madam Speaker, we have continued to work closely, both myself and in both of my roles as Minister of Finance, Minister of ITI, do meet regularly with...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to table the following document: Status of Women Council of the Northwest Territories 20202021 Annual Report. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the vaccination policy has always been one of to get a proof of vaccination in and, you know, I hope people aren't doing that, again, because of this; they're doing it because the vaccinations are the best way for them to stay safe and for them to keep their families safe and for as public servants, to keep members of the public safe.
If they're choosing to not provide a proof of vaccination, there's always been the option within the policy that they could then rely on a combination of PPE and testing. There may well be situations that if an employee is...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the numbers are continuing to roll in, and I can say the first version I saw has changed in the 12 hours even since I first saw it a couple of times over. And in a good way. Madam Speaker, I want to say I've you know, there's some outlying areas that I do have some concerns that the numbers are coming in a little low. We are reaching out as a department and with respect to education authorities, I know ECE's reaching out as well, just to make sure that numbers are accurate, first of all, and then to figure out if there's some supports or information...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, prior to COVID, tourism was at around 2 percent GDP. So not a huge contributor to our gross domestic product, certainly. And I don't think I've ever made any statements to the contrary that we are likely to remain dependent on a mineral resource sector as our primary contributor in the private sector to GDP. That is likely to continue into the near future. That said, Madam Speaker, the tourism industry contributes over and above its weight in terms of job contributions. There's a high level of jobs across the territory, particularly outside of...
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I certainly agree that this is the tourism sector is has been one of the hardest sectors hit through COVID. It's one of the ones that's going to, sadly, be one of the last to fully rebound. And there's a lot of work that already happens between ITI and Northwest Territories Tourism Association as well as with the COVID Secretariat. I think there was a meeting even just last week, if I'm not mistaken, or within the last couple of weeks, Madam Speaker. So I don't want to create a situation for the tourism association either where they are tasked with...
