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

Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation
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Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't know that I have much to add, but given that I did make the request, I wanted to just reflect that this actually came to me originally out of concern for someone raising concerns similar to what the Member for Great Slave has said, that people who are concerned for their personal safety and who have been through something in their life may not want their personal address on there. I would share the other comments raised, that, really, anyone who is making a donation to a political party or to a political candidate or wants to participate in the political process...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Range Lake, that Bill 28, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) 2021-2022, be read for the second time. This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for operations expenditures for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. It also sets out limits on amounts that may be borrowed by the Commissioner on behalf of the government, includes information in respect of all existing borrowing and all projected borrowing for the fiscal year, and authorizes the making of disbursements to pay the principal of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following three documents: "Northwest Territories Tourism: Towards Resilience - 2021-2022 Marketing Plan"; "Tourism 2025: Roadmap to Recovery, April 2021"; and further to my Written Question 24-19(2), "Conflict of Interest Information." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

When I said earlier that there are quite a number of programs, I say that out of personal experience. I have found it inspiring but also overwhelming, the amount of opportunity and options that are there. What I have asked for recently and what has been produced just in the last month is actually an 11-page document that says "Funding Programs: Industry, Tourism and Investment." I was recently up in the Beaufort-Delta, took this with me, and was handing it out as we were meeting with various community governments. I think what I will say is that not only will we reach out to the Soaring Eagle...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of ITI has a wealth, a variety, of different programs and funding opportunities for programs just such as this. Yes, while I am happy to give the yes and say that we will reach out to Kakisa to make sure that they are aware of it, there are so many options and opportunities. If there are communities, Indigenous organizations, Indigenous governments, individuals thinking about creating some sort of small agriculture project, wanting to learn more about commercial agriculture, there are funding opportunities for small-scale foods programs; there are funding...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

As I said at the beginning, my understanding is that BDIC has contacted all of their clients. There were some whom they were unable to get a hold of, and certainly, there are no doubt some whose situations may continue to change. I cannot say strongly enough that, anyone who is a client of BDIC or who might benefit as a client of BDIC, that they please get in touch with the loans officers. There are a number of different options. For example, although some businesses have restarted on their regular payments, some have renegotiated to actually have lower payments than what they had before, some...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 72)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was already some time ago that there were conversations happening within the BDIC around what to do with the loan deferral program, and the option that we took was one of reaching out, in fact, to every single one of the 139 loan clients who had their loan payments deferred. In doing that, they were better able to tailor their response such that quite a number have actually begun to resume their regular payments. Of the remaining 76, in fact, who had requested some further reductions or deferrals, they were able to tailor-make the program to either defer or to reduce...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 27, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 3, 2020-2021, be read for the third time, and, Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. A note of caution that, of course, 85 percent of our budget comes from the federal government, so while I'm certainly always going to look for ways to better streamline what money we get and how we can spend it so that we have the flexibility to do things according to our priorities, that, at the same time, the deal that we have, just to be cautious that we aren't looking for greener grass that might not actually be so green. That said, we can't figure out these ideas without having the conversations, and so point taken that those conversations continue to be had. Thank...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 71)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Certainly, given on the corporate side, there are three large pairs that make up a high proportion of the total corporate income taxes that are coming in to the GNWT. When that particular industry, when the diamond industry suffers a significant loss, that is going to have a significant impact on this line item, even though it is only, as I say, a handful of businesses and all in one sector. Arguably, one solution to that would be is to have greater diversity in the economy so that we're not so reliant on one particular sector and even a sector within that sector, and...