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 , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, always happy to look at other options. There is a wealth of change happening in the energy space. Everything from AI managed battery technology that can look to optimize the battery systems and to the actual management of a diesel -- even a diesel generator, all the way over to micro hydro or micro nuclear which is just really tiny little facilities, not on a scale that we were -- would have before seen that are still only at a piloting stage.

So the short answer is yes, Mr. Speaker, and the longer answer is we need to make sure that whatever which of these...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I don't know if I have that number exactly. This certainly -- I mean, it's this -- this has been a long-term and longstanding problem back in -- I want to say 2012, thereabouts. It used to be something that was led by the Canadian Coast Guard. They have walked away from being the lead on this and that has left the GNWT picking up this -- the need for maintaining the harbour. The harbour restoration, really the term restoration speaks to the fact that there -- it's pretty, you know, standard and expected, really, to have to maintain the harbour and to do some...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the energy systems of the Northwest Territories are in dire need of significant nation scale investment. We need the federal government to be paying attention to the situation we find ourselves in. Residents across this territory are facing not only the high cost that they currently pay. That is also significantly subsidized by the GNWT just to keep the power bills of where they are.

Mr. Speaker, we are not alone. The Yukon right now is proposing a 34 percent increase to their power bills. Nunavut pays an even larger subsidy than we do on their power bills...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, there is quite a bit happening in this space right now in terms of timing. So there is the Rockhill site that is empty right now but that there's been some work that's underway with Housing NWT and the NGO community to see that it gets turned into a more permanent facility. So there is that. And I do want to make sure that that is clear. And that is not necessarily related here to what this money is for. That certainly is other work that's happening. There is also the general -- not general, but broader work happening over at EIA with respect to consolidated...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I said in response to the first series of questions, this is not a project where there is, to my recollection, a firm budget that's been provided publicly, and this is not the place to be doing that. But, Mr. Speaker, with respect to timelines, the second question -- of the second question, Mr. Speaker, we are still working towards having the system online for 2033. Quite a lot of things do have to fall into place. First and foremost, Mr. Speaker, there are legacy issues surrounding the original Taltson Dam that date back to the 1960s and '70s, and that...

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This one item here is just with respect or revises as a respect -- excuse me, arises from the budget deliberations that we concluded in the last session. So this was a $100,000 commitment that was made on the floor as part of our discussions around what would be required for the operations budget to pass. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Sheila Laity. She is a registered nurse and nurse practitioner, and resident of Yellowknife South, and also a long-term advocate for her profession. Thank you.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This refers to section 11 of the federal Species at Risk Act, and this funding is going to support entering into the implementation of a conservation agreement with any government in Canada, organization, or benefit to support a species of risk. This funding will help ensure that we as the GNWT are fulfilling obligations under a two-year conservation agreement, and the project proposed here is titled the Conservation of Boreal Caribou in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Happy to do so, Mr. Chair. On my left, Bill MacKay, deputy minister of finance. And on my right, Mandi Bolstad, the deputy secretary to the financial management board.

Debates of , 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 59)

Thank you, Mr. Chair, I do.

Mr. Chair, I am here to present Tabled Document 341-20(1), Supplementary Estimates (Operations Expenditures and Borrowing Authorization) No. 1, 2025-2026. This document proposes a total appropriation increase of $47.15 million, $38.5 million of which will be offset by revenues from the Government of Canada and various provincial governments.

Notable items supported by federal funding include:

$20.6 million to support health and social services cost share agreements, including $9.2 million for First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care and $8 million for Northern...