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.
Mr. Speaker, I most certainly will not attempt to describe or explain what the federal government did or did not do with respect to the carbon tax. Mr. Speaker, I can say, just for the sake of information, that community electric power generation for communities is exempted. And obviously, again, our cost of living offset is meant to then adjust to the fact that we know that not only will expenses for in a household be going up, but business expenses go up and some of that will then spill over into individual consumers. And so what we tried to do was adjust our cost of living offset to...
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 100, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 20242025, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I would like to request a recorded vote.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 168)
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, unlike the Member for Nunakput, there's quite a number of residents that actually, I think, are from Yellowknife South. I'm not going to recognize you all. I'm going to do one thing. I'm going to highlight that we have these nice little forms people can fill these forms out when they come and visit us here in the Legislative Assembly and they can tell you where they're from, which constituency they are. So if you are from Yellowknife South and you didn't fill it out, I'm sorry, I'm not going to get to you. But one person did. Mira Dunn filled out this...
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that Bill 100, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 20242025, be read for the second time. This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the 20242025 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 100, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures) 20242025, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm not sure anyone's still listening but if they are maybe I'll get a copy of Hansard and put this in my transition binder.
Mr. Speaker, I'm not really the touchiefeelie speech writer type; that's not really how I went through the court system so you can put your Kleenex away. I also, in general, the Commissioner's address is something I thought I would do because I don't get the chance to speak much, I gather. Thanks to Member from Frame Lake, apparently I'm in error. Apparently I speak a lot. Sorry, everyone, I was going to make up for that today so...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Infrastructure and I sit on behalf of the Government of the Northwest Territories on the steering committee, but we are, really, Members of that steering committee. We don't we're not leaders. We're not the sole proprietors of this project. We are part of that committee. So I can't, and I won't, give a date without consulting.
What I will do, Mr. Speaker, is direct our departments to ask the steering committee members with which we participate whether or not we are in a position to share a number. But if not, Mr. Speaker, at the very least...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there will not be any need for a schedule anymore. However, whether the business is on that schedule, and there are a few, will or will now not be under the BIP, Mr. Speaker, they should go through the process if they want to fall under BIP, they should go back I, in fact, just received an email this morning from a northern business but where the owner actually does live across the border, but it's an entirely northernbased business. I would encourage folks now to reach out to their ITI regional offices, let's take a look at whether or not they will fall...
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Yes, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, all of the proposed revisions that were in the recommendations from the panel are going to be captured in a revision to the BIP. Thank you.
Oh, Mr. Speaker, I can't I can't tell you what I think. Or what I think the next Minister can do.
Mr. Speaker, there's been a fulsome review that was conducted. I would commend people to if they are interested in this area, to look at what we heard the What We Heard report, to look at the recommendations therein. It is the recommendations that are saying to bring in an Indigenous employment policy that would really refocus on an area that we know that the Department of Finance would like to see improvements, that we know it's an area that the public service remains underrepresented. And it...
