Deputy Premier Minister of Finance 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.
The constitutional landscape of Canada is ever-shifting. It has been described as a living tree. Obviously, we have to fit our tools and our policies and our rules within that tree, and do our best to ensure that everything within the GNWT is constitutional. That is always our effort. That is always our goal. To the extent that there are technical issues or concerns around that, I will ensure that that's an element or an aspect of the briefing that I propose to engage with the committee, so as to ensure that we are doing the best, both to serve the people of the Northwest Territories and...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you, Madam Chair. The Member is quite correct. There is not a large forced growth estimate in terms of the resources that are in strategic human resources, which doesn't speak to the work that's ongoing in that department to ensure that we are achieving the goals of a representative workforce. Between April 1st and December 31st, for example, 357 courses were being delivered online and in-person, so there is a lot of effort going on there. There's a long list of different programs that are administered at the GNWT.
I do know, Madam Chair, that, if you compare the actuals, some of the...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Yes, Madam Chair. I am happy to confirm that. We will prepare some sort of structure around those options and engage with the committee, and then, ultimately, the intention is to take that into a public forum so that we can have that kind of dialogue about revenue options. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you, Madam Chair. The appeal process itself is actually done by a third party. With respect to whether the overall process has ever been reviewed, not to my knowledge. This is an area that I already, in only the short few months that I have been a Minister, have had many enquiries from Members about staffing appeals, so I am alive to the fact that this does seem to be an issue that is coming back to all of the Members in this House. While I can't right now commit necessarily to a full review of this particular program, I certainly can commit to going back and making some further...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Madam Chair, we will continue to comply with the agreement that established the Heritage Fund and that establishes the contribution levels. Thank you.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think our total debt servicing payments, that includes both interest and principal, is $33 million. That is maybe not entirely the breakdown that the Member is looking for, but that at least now is giving some collected number. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This policy has been subject to two reviews over the past 20-some years, and what I would suggest and commit to do is to engage with the appropriate committee in a technical briefing on this, so that we can start to have a dialogue on the work that has been done on the policy and on its contents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I've also never had a government job until now, and my process was a bit unique. Perhaps this a conversation I can have with the Member not in this forum. I don't have hiring information in front of me; I only have the budgeting main estimates in front of me. It will depend on each job. Technical jobs will have very different hiring processes than a less technical job; there may well be exams for certain technical requirements, may well be essays, language testing, et cetera. So, it will vary quite a bit. I expect there may be some specific contests that the Member is...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)
Madam Chair, thank you. There was actually a request for qualifications process that was under way earlier in the 2019 year. That process is complete. The next stage was for an actual request for proposals for the prospective retailers, and it's that second stage that has been delayed that was supposed to be out this January. That has been delayed somewhat. We are at stage 2. There have already been some anticipated retailers who met the qualifications, and they're now being invited back to bid on the next stage as soon as that is available. As I have said, again, I am alive to the fact that...
