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. The Department of Finance is well aware that the territories, including the Northwest Territories, are certainly behind some of our other provincial colleagues, anyways, in Canada in terms of providing cellular coverage on highways. In being aware of that, we are beginning to take steps to find out what options there may be available, to explore what can be done to expand the coverage. The simple reality, Mr. Speaker, is there is no private market for this. There is no way of earning any sort of revenue or profit on this. For this to go forward, there would have to be...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Fiscal Responsibility Policy really doesn't speak to operations and maintenance budgets of any of the infrastructure projects that are at issue. It speaks to the funding of the infrastructure project itself, so it wouldn't be reflected in the operation of the asset, whether that is a P3 asset or otherwise. Obviously, it seems that perhaps there needs to be a further briefing or discussion around the Fiscal Responsibility Policy and what it includes, but the fact that it doesn't include the operations of an asset that happens to be a P3 is not, I would suggest, the...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. There certainly was an expectation. I had an expectation that we would bringing some of our bundles of services online under the eServices portal this month or imminently. I think that, in fact, there has been identified a need to push that date back a little bit, but again, since we have the chief information officer here, I might ask him to give us the latest update, please.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to introduce Sandy Kalgutkar, deputy minister of Finance and secretary to the Financial Management Board, and also Rick Wind, chief information officer.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. At this point, we are under a notice to bargain and, as such, can't be making any changes to the Public Service Act. We will take that one step at a time at this stage. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, absolutely there is, and we'll certainly provide that.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I will turn over in just a moment to Mr. Wind, but just by way of some example, when COVID-19 took hold last spring, when all of the government was being asked as much as possible to work from home for the safety and protection of all residents, we did roll out the Teams meeting software. There was, in fact, tracking underway about how quickly it rolled out and tracking about help inquiries that came in and tracking as to the effectiveness and use of the software and its functionality. I have seen firsthand the ability to do that, that cross-government work, in a...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased to present the 2021-2022 Main Estimates for the Department of Finance. Overall, the department's estimates propose an increase of $15.2 million or 5.3 percent over the main estimates of 2020-2021. These estimates support the mandate objectives for the Department of Finance while continuing to meet the GNWT's fiscal objectives to prioritize responsible and strategic spending. Highlights of these proposed estimates include:
$76.8 million in contribution funding to the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation; and
$8.4 million to increase Carbon Tax Offset...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, I'm not seeing a $37,000 line item. Is this under contract services, Madam Chair? I believe that is the line item that we are looking at. The actuals for 2019-2020 were at $37,000. The set amount of budget for contract services 2020-2021, as well as now, 2021-2022, is $83,000, Madam Chair. There would have been a freeze back in 2019-2020 at the time of the election, and that would have had a significant impact on contract services that year, a difference of $46,000.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 54)
Sorry, Madam Chair. It's simply to say that, obviously, this is really a matter that should go to the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, to the Minister responsible for the Power Corporation to speak to, whether or not there is anything to be taken from the approach here, whether there is any change in future approaches. However, with respect to the borrowing plan here, as I say, it's really just reflecting the projects, including the Hay River project but not exclusive to the Hay River project, and showing the impacts that that has on the total borrowing plan of the government. I am not...
