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 116)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Indigenous Management Training Program can support up to 40 grants at $10,000 per grant. So it is undersubscribed. And I would note, Mr. Speaker, it is actually under review right now for exactly that reason or that's one of the reasons, to help increase utilization.

I would note, Mr. Speaker, when we started this Assembly the Indigenous Career Gateway Program was also underutilized and is now oversubscribed. So I do believe we can get there with this one too. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Madam Chair, I believe that the industry and buildings GHG grant fund or grant program, and that, Madam Chair, would be an applicationbased grant program to support energy efficiency, renewable energy, and fuel substitution in industry and commercial buildings. So, Madam Chair, that is and by applicationbased. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I understand that provides for two aircraft. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, indeed, all managers do go through the management series program. That is mandatory. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is, right now, a onetime programming. It is we're part of I missed the name earlier, Tourism Relief Fund, which came out from the federal government and is extended through to the end of next year. I do hope that it's fully subscribed. That is certainly the point.

Whether we'll need anything further, you know, I can't say. Again, hoping we don't continue to need any sorts of relief or recovery.

The next stage of tourism funding would probably be looking over to the Tourism 2025, which is part of ITI's Main Estimates. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, can I turn that to the deputy minister, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I've had it described to me that when the decision was made, before my time here, to purchase the property, that it was thought to, in fact, be a good maneuver and, indeed, that it would in fact not have difficulty being sold. So regardless of that, at this point I will still note, Mr. Speaker, that the two properties, although being 140 kilometres apart, were jointly owned previously. They remain high grade Tungsten properties. Geopolitical events and the critical minerals and metals discussions suggest that there may well be a good opportunity right now...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, at this point, there's certainly the, you know, expectation based on what was being done and what was being tracked over the last few months, the last few months of where COVID was at. You know, this is expected to get us through that transition. I'm hesitating because of course I don't think anyone really knows what may or may not happen, say, this fall. You know, there's certainly a hope that with the vaccination rates that we have, with the availability of vaccinations for youth, for boosters, etcetera, that we won't be back in any kind of significant...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So yes, you'll recall the Fiscal Responsibility Policy requires that 50 percent of our capital budget is funded through supplementary or from operations surpluses. So yes, if there's less surplus available, then there'd be less money to spend in compliance with that policy. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with respect to any sort of sale program or process that may be underway, it would not be unusual for that to involve confidential discussions. And if that's the case, it's very difficult, if not impossible, considering legal obligations, to be displaying that out publicly.

That said, Mr. Speaker, we are a consensus government and there's been a lot of work done in this Assembly in terms of understanding better how to communicate between Ministers and MLAs when it comes to the development of legislation and the development of regulations, and perhaps there's...