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.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So two issues there. One is the chemotherapy drugs specifically which is what this particular item is in relation to. The services here, obviously costs are going up, drug costs are going up. There are some recoveries and some rebates as a result of agreements that are being signed in terms of providing the ability to seek some lower cost drugs, but we do have a shortage at $484,000. There's more clients requiring the drugs and then also the fact that the drugs are more costly.
Mr. Chair, more broadly, with drug-related costs and expenditures, certainly, again, I would...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, Mr. Chair, so earlier in the fall, or I guess now in the fall, I had written to make that request. I have recently had an opportunity to be in contact with the Minister of Finance for the federal government who has confirmed that the matter is moving forward. We don't have a final confirmation. There is an internal process within the federal government that they go through, but I understand that that is underway. So I had hoped to have a final confirmation of that obviously before we are now in our own budget session but we are confident, given the information that I...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, the more fulsome response likely lies either with the Premier or the Minister of health. I certainly can say that in the last year, and even before that, that it is an issue that does come up at bilateral meetings with the NWT Metis Nation and that, in fact, progress in terms of at least our collective or joint advocacy is positive. The president and the Northwest Territories Metis Nation actually travelled with Minister -- our current Minister when she was last there to advocate on this very issue. So while it is a bit frustrating for all of us, it is...
Mr. Chair, I have -- I only have here the supplementary estimates total. I don't have the original line item. I may be able to find it. It would be a line item potentially in the 2025-2026 budget but that is considered by committee. So I -- yes, I don't have the original budget; I have only the supplementary estimates around here, sorry. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, again, I don't have that in the materials in front of me on the sup. I can say anecdotically that I'm aware that, for example, communities outside of the regional centres, so small communities does -- occasionally there are opportunities to work with a community band or Indigenous organization who may have some land or some lease space available but, again, as a broad comment I will have to get back to the Member. I'm happy to do that. Again, I actually do -- I do find the leasing space one that I'm interested in, Mr. Chair. I just don't have that level of...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, that's an excellent question and to my knowledge, that's exactly the kind of question that is being looked at by the health sustainability unit. I don't have the trends in the supplementary estimates document or background. I can say that this may well include some of the additional amounts that we would have incurred -- oh no, those things -- we did see certainly a bump when the evacuations took place, for example, in 2023, but that would have been dealt with in the past fiscal year. So as far as beyond that for trends, as I say, it is certainly something that...
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes, if we borrow more, we have to pay more but, Mr. Chair, the limit is just the maximum amount that we can borrow, not necessarily money that we are, in fact, borrowing, so that -- what would be proposed for -- to be available for borrowing comes through in the budget every year so you will see the -- that there's -- in the main estimates, one of the front end pages has the proposed borrowing plan and that is what's -- where it is reflecting amounts that are anticipated year to year, long-term debt and short-term debt. That's the portion that we would see potentially...
