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 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think it is still falling under the old legislation, which, again, I don't have in front of me. Madam Chair, I'm going to see if I can drive that back over to the deputy minister.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Community Futures Regional Relief and Recovery Fund: the purpose there is to fund Community Futures organizations, which are in individual communities across the Northwest Territories and specifically with respect to COVID-19 impacts on those communities, outside of the regional centres in particular, so anything from short-term stability for the communities, various economic readiness activities. It includes small, repayable loans to some of the local small- and medium-sized businesses. Again, it's an infusion of funding to those Community Futures organizations that is...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. This is a busy unit. It has a lot going on and across different areas of the department. This is where the socio-economic agreements reside. This will be where the remediation work, the remediation economy resides. This is where the Northwest Territories geological survey resides with all of its scientists. There's actually only a small percentage that is minerals specific. It is quite wide-ranging and quite broad. We have our client services community relations section that's here which supports, in fact, small businesses and small prospectors to take action and to be...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

This actually allows me to answer the last part of the previous question that I realize I didn't get to. With respect to curriculum, that certainly falls very much within ECE's purview. With respect to the kind of programming and opportunities that are available for students in high school in a young age bracket, I absolutely will commit to speaking with ECE, with my colleague, to see what we can do so that we can find some complementary programs and ideas. One thing, Mr. Speaker, that ITI is right now at the idea stage of, and it's an exciting stage, is looking at bringing junior achievement...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Fisheries regulations specifically, to the extent that there would be changes, they may well involve either ENR or the Department of Oceans and Fisheries from the federal government. The work that we are doing right now, from ITI's end, is to support, firstly, the Tlicho Fishers Cooperative, as they are getting ready to operate the fish plant that is being built as well as working with some of the other Indigenous governments or communities around the lake to build up their capacity, whether in terms of training or whether in terms of local processing, small-scale micro...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Madam Chair, no. It's not like that, Madam Chair. I'm going to suggest, though, that this go to Deputy Minister Strand.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I don't have my tourism section open just now, but there is a close relationship, obviously, working with federal partners. It is our intention, much as when COVID first hit, to continue to work with them to understand what they are able to fund so that we are prepared to support their programs, complement their programs, or fill gaps if there are any. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I can certainly go through the details of what is specifically ongoing right now. I'm not seeing that we've added one, but let me just double check that back over with Deputy Minister Strand, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

BDIC's statistics do show that approximately nine percent of total loans go to businesses where women are the sole proprietor. Approximately, 55 percent of total loans go to those where there's a woman who is, at least, a part-owner of the business.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 66)

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is a conversation worth having, so I will go and have the conversation. Thank you, Madam Chair.