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 29)

Any major policy changes would certainly be accompanied by a communications plan, and it has been our practice, of course, to share it with Members first before handing it out to the media. At this point, I don't see why we would do anything differently.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Madam Chair, FMB will sit on an emergency basis if it needs to, as it has been throughout the last several months as we have been dealing with COVID-19. That won't change in the next couple of months. As the Minister of ECE has already noted, there needs to be determination within the department whether or not they need to come back to FMB for money or whether they can find other sources of funding. I am confident in relying on what the Minister of ECE has said, that as soon as they have made that decision, if they need to come to FMB, we don't need a lot of turnaround. There won't be any...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Honourable Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, that Bill 7, Appropriation Act (Operations Expenditures) 2020-2021 be read for the for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Obviously, the priorities of the Assembly are the priorities of the Assembly and not only those of Cabinet. This is not the first time that I've had the chance to hear what previous Finance Ministers may or may not have done. I have no difficulty in saying that I am who I am, and I intend to follow through on promises that I make. Madam Chair, I have already gone through the process of asking the department why I see certain words over and over again, giving me general explanations. If there is an explanation, then we should be following through on it and fixing the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't know the exact stage of the project. I can find out the stage of the project, and that would hopefully provide the Member with a bit more certainty as to the timing of the project and how that would benefit, hopefully, his members.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Yes, I'm also quite familiar with the Kwanlin Dun program. I can certainly commit to saying that I intend to look into the terms of reference through which it was created, or MOUs or whatever systems or processes they used to establish their program. I am aware that it is a program that is in part funded by the Kwanlin Dun First Nation. Certainly, it would never be my intention to impose a program like this on any Indigenous government or community, but I would be more than happy to work with any Indigenous government to try to work towards this sort of a goal and to then go to our federal...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Certainly, I don't know that the federal government generally funds any sorts of school projects for us, which doesn't necessarily mean that the other comments are any less important or prescient regarding the needs of this school or the fact that it's been around and on the project plans for quite a long time. Certainly, at the very least, Madam Chair, before we're back in session, we will have a better plan. I don't know where we'll be at in terms of the project, but I can at least, at that point, report back, or the Minister of ECE will be able to report back and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I am happy to make sure that we give those commitments and provide that information, but I don't have that information on the infrastructure supp. I only have information regarding how much is being carried over from last year to either continue the work that is under way or to follow through on contracts that were previously signed. I am quite confident that the Minister of ITI is going to have to give a fairly detailed briefing about the stage of the fishing projects and these particular projects, likely in advance of the capital plans that are coming forward in July...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Certainly, the 42.5 is a much higher number than what I would like to see, as well. I'm cognizant of that. I don't disagree with the Member in that regard. As far as this particular year, quite a number, as I'd mentioned at the outset, of this is relating to the Invest in Canada infrastructure plan, which was a significant project funding program put forward by the federal government, of which we were able to benefit quite a bit from, but it meant that we simply weren't able to carry through and will complete all of those projects. Some of the individual projects have...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 29)

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's too early to say necessarily. As far as design changes, there is no information here that suggests that is inevitable or imminent. I suppose the short answer is: not anticipated, Madam Chair. Again, the capital plan for 2021-2022 is underway, so if there do need to be significant changes, there would be an opportunity to see those at that time. Thank you, Madam Chair.