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 79)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 34, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) No. 1, 20212022, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, the five million is really an initial figure right now to support the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and, more specifically, the disaster assistance committees that have been set up to go in and to provide, firstly, the emergency services and emergency supports that have already been offered. So in terms of the costs of conducting the evacuations, the cost of providing shelter and food for evacuees, you know, cots, fans, camping equipment, supplies, again, food, and various other supplies in a real emergency moment. So I understand the costs...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. And Madam Chair, I just want to say I was flipping through the contribution agreement trying to find the specific section, but it just at the risk of repeating, it is quite clear that it is there is not to be any dividend payments, share buybacks, shareholder distributions, any management bonuses relevant to the term of the agreement. So, I mean, there is no lack of clarity that this funding is not meant to be for those purposes board member salaries or parent corporations to a third party, etcetera. So it is quite clear.

I do not believe there have been any challenges...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Madam Chair, the Minister of Housing has been very clear that she is committed to getting housing dealt with ready, sorted, built, rebuilt, and when I'm focusing on the disaster assistance policy and the disaster assistance committee, it is not for lack of recognizing that we need to work outside that stringent process. I want people to know that there is a process, that it is in existence, that the committee is stood up, and you know, and will undertake its work and take it seriously. But, again, that's where I've made the statement today that we're going to be working together to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the business advisory council certainly, once they got going, were meeting very regularly; I think at one point weekly with representatives of the Department of ITI. But before the BAC, or the Business Advisory Council even existed, this group was put together as a working group to start to talk about economic recovery at the tail end of the closure there was still Ekati I think was still closed at the time. It was clear that there was going to be a tremendous economic recovery. There was great fear and uncertainly and so this group came together and said...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it's come to our attention there might have been a number written incorrectly on the materials that are tabled. So in order to avoid any confusion and ensure that we are accurate, I'd like to make a motion that Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures), No. 1, 20212022, be amended by changing the line under "Industry, Tourism and Investment, economic diversification and business support, not previously authorized", that this be changed to $450,000. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, Mr. Koe was the lead on this so I'll have him perhaps just describe the process that was used, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, that is partly the work of the disaster systems committee once its set up, or sorry  that they are coming up with lists of eligibility of what types of damage and what property losses are going to be eligible for compensation and at what level. So that is indeed exactly part of the work that they would be undertaking. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I managed to write down two of the items that were listed. With respect to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board workshop, there was a workshop that was held; I believe it was hosted by the land and water boards and it was attended by, if I recall correctly, a hundred or a 150 different representatives from governments, from industry, so, you know, I am not particularly surprised that they'd be talking about that since both parties would have been in attendance at that.

With respect to the Fraser Institute, that's an annual report that's put out. Some...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 79)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So again, Madam Chair, in this case, you know, again I can certainly provide a breakdown of the totality of the accommodation sector in the Northwest Territories because, again  because there have been various relief programs operating, and we had good cooperation from our federal partners who are administering a lot of those, we have the information around what the sector looks like. And what I can say is that they've looked really, again, at the rooms available and the reduction in the capacity that's been filled over the last year, and this subsidy is meant to help...