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,  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

Board of Management
Caroline Wawzonek
Yellowknife South
Member's Office

Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
Canada

P.O. Box
1320
Email
Caroline_wawzonek@ntassembly.ca
Office
(867) 767-9143 (link is a phone number)
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation
Mobile
867-445-7437(link is a phone number)
Minister
Email
Caroline_wawzonek@gov.nt.ca

Statements in Debates

Bill 9: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 20242025, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Bill 9, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2024-2025, be read for a third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 9: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 20242025, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Nunakput, that Bill 9, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2024-2025, be read for the second time.

This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Bill 9: Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 20242025
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House Bill 9, Supplementary Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2024-2025, to be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Tabled Document 134-20(1): Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee Report 1-20(1), Report on the 2024-2025 Main Estimates
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following document: Government of the Northwest Territories Response to Committee report 1-20(1): Report on the 2024-2025 Main Estimates. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Member’s Statement 318-20(1): Special Olympics Constituent Congratulations
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 27)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to take this opportunity to bring attention to a very accomplished athlete from Yellowknife South.

Mr. Speaker, last summer Chelsey Makaro travelled to Berlin, Germany, as part of Team Canada at the Special Olympics World Summer Games and came home with not one, but two gold medals - one for the 25-meter backstroke and the other as part of the 4 by 50 meter freestyle team relay. These medals also made Chelsey the first Northwest Territories female athlete to win gold at the Special Olympics World Games. And with this accomplishment, together with all...

Committee Motion 33-20(1) : Concurrence Motion - Tabled Document 111-20(1): Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2024-2025, Carried
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 26)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, Consensus government is fundamentally different than a partisan system where political parties develop party platforms to deliver after an election. Having fewer Cabinet Ministers than Regular Members, who form standing committees, may be similar to a minority government situation when it comes time to determine whether or how Cabinet can seek to pass a budget or a law because there must be discussions to ensure a necessary number of votes. However, the nature and content of our discussions within a consensus system is different. The work we do in a consensus...

Question 288-20(1): Extending Government of the Northwest Territories Employee Training to Non-Governmental Organizations Staff
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 26)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think that we're starting to cross paths between different departments, whether it's EIA in the Premier's shop where I know they are doing a significant amount of work in terms of supporting our NGO sector in the Northwest Territories. Obviously ECE and the Department of Finance from the human resources perspective. Let me answer briefly and say anything's possible. Whether I'm going to be able to commit on the floor to a program that's rolled out in Saskatchewan, probably not, but certainly can commit to looking at that program and seeing whether there...

Question 287-20(1): Proposed Closure of the Fort Smith Correctional Centre
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 26)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have noted the comment about wanting to see change to the policy and guidelines. At the present time, we do have a policy with associated guidelines so at this point I'd not want to try to second guess what position, what individual, what training someone might have. They may have training that is beyond the position that they are in or different from the position they are in. So I would just want to emphasize, again, that every effort is always made to ensure that any affected employee whose position might be eliminated is not lost from the public...

Question 287-20(1): Proposed Closure of the Fort Smith Correctional Centre
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 26)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As of March 31st of 2024, there are 492 vacancies across the GNWT. A vacancy obviously can come with a number of different meanings. It may mean that it may be actively being recruited for at any particular point in time. In Fort Smith specifically, Mr. Speaker, there are 647 GNWT positions of which, again, as of the 31st of March, 114 were vacant, and there were 34 positions in total proposed for elimination in the 2024-2025 Main Estimates. Thank you.

Minister’s Statement 55-20(1): 2024 Safe Driving Initiatives
Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 26)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to update you on new initiatives being introduced over the coming months to enhance public safety for residents and road users in the territory. We can all agree that when it comes to safety, there is a lot on the line. There are almost 27,000 licensed drivers registered in the Northwest Territories. The latest territorial traffic collisions report shows nearly 450 vehicle collisions in one year with 18.5 percent resulting in injury, and a whopping 31 percent involving impaired driving. BIn July 2023, the RCMP conducted a roadside survey in Yellowknife and found that...