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 15)

Merci, monsieur le President. [Translation] This Sunday is the International Day for Women. [End of translation] The Minister responsible for the Status of Women spoke to the theme selected by the Status of Women Canada for this year, Because of You, recognizing the socio-economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and girls.

There are other themes for International Women's Day. First, the United Nations Women's theme for this year is: I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights. Another, the global campaign theme, is: Each for Equal. This theme highlights that we are all...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

I have seen that date, but I don't remember if offhand, to be very honest. I will find out. I will get back to the Member. Certainly, to this point, it has been my practice to try to get all of these types of reports and evaluations over to the other Members as quickly as possible. Not quite a commitment, but that has at least been my intent and my working practice thus far. Unless there's something about this report that I am unaware of, being that it was commissioned by an outside entity, that would otherwise be my expectation.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Departments of Justice and Finance will be so excited today. As I have said, I already have committed to ensuring that I will report back to this House as to the best place in which we are going to house the issue of domestic violence and solving domestic violence, and when I make that report, I will report back on where and who will be working to bring the resources together.

There are times where having a specific and defined resource is to the benefit of someone with a specific, defined issue; there may be other times where an individual wants to get all of the...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Coming up with a bargaining mandate is a more complicated matter than one I am going to begin to commit to here on the floor, but I am confident that all of my Cabinet colleagues are hearing this exchange. Sometimes that's exactly the benefit of being in this House, so that we can all hear those exchanges and hear the issues that are raised.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The collective agreement does have a difference in it as compared to what is in the employment standards provisions, but it actually does also say that more than three days of leave can be approved by the employer and that the approval cannot be unreasonably denied. Certainly, we could take the step of at least reminding all of the GNWT that, indeed, one would not want to deny leave in circumstances when there is a case of domestic violence leave. If they have been given the three days and are requesting further, I would expect that, in many, many cases, it would be...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

There is an interdepartmental working group that's not really, I realize, the most accessible place for Members of the Assembly or members of the public to access Cabinet on a specific issue. I'm just concerned with the idea that it's going to happen within the life of the current sitting. That's only another month away. I'm happy to make that a target, but I'm hesitant to go so far as to make it a commitment. When I make a commitment, as I think I've said before, I take that fairly seriously. I'll make it a target. At the very least, I will report back on what progress is made in terms of...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 15)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will be frank about it. There is not one single department responsible for domestic violence, nor is there a Minister responsible for domestic violence. What there is, fortunately, is a recognition by this Cabinet of that gap, and a recognition of the need to fix that gap. What I would offer instead is to commit to the Member that I will take it upon myself to ensure that there is an answer to that question in the life of the Assembly, sooner rather than later. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

The Department of Human Resources is constantly working to ensure that it is doing the best it can to be a representative workforce. To that end, as I've said before in this House in the last month, there are a variety of programs. They are continuously making efforts to be responsive as new ideas arise to be innovative. For instance, developing the building capacity in Indigenous governments program that is being worked on right now is one where it's helping to build capacity in communities with secondments between the GNWT and Indigenous governments.

There's a constant effort to find new and...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

The Affirmative Action Policy is one that has different classifications depending on the types of jobs to which someone is applying. A P1 individual, for example, is someone who is Indigenous Aboriginal to the territory or someone who is Aboriginal and spent more than half their life in the Northwest Territories. There are also the P2 classifications. Depending, for a management position, there are 1A and 1B classifications. They are quite rigorous. They are clearly stated and, indeed, if someone meets one of those classifications and passes the requirements for a position, they are hired even...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 13)

I understand that the Member has some concerns, perhaps arising from specific incidents. I am not sure. If that is the case, I want Members in this House to bring specific concerns to me. I have had specific concerns brought forward. We've actioned them. We take them back to the department. We run investigations. You make enquiries. Individuals who don't receive positions have appeal rights in some cases. I would encourage those who have access to such appeal rights to exercise them. Appeals are done by independent individuals, not Members of the GNWT. Indeed, very often workplace...