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.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, this project I certainly share some frustration with respect to the progress on this project. There seemingly has been a number of challenges over the last couple of years. And that's certainly led to a negative outlook by the community, which quite frankly saddens me more to think that the children there or the students there would think that they are not the priority of anyone in elected office. I can say at this point, while we have been assured that there be certain completions here for September, including not the least of which be a gym space, the...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that really does go to the real heart and the purpose of having the process that we're in, of having that process laid out as it is, to ensure that it does bring us to a place that we have agreements that are fair, that do, you know, reflect and respect the role of the public service and the Government of the Northwest Territories and that ensures that we have a sustainable contract to provide to our public servants over the longterm and in a way that is reasonable. So all of those ideals and all of those values remain unchanged. Again, I believe we are we...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 163)
Thank you, Madam Chair. It's an extension of the Mackenzie Valley fibre line. So it will be a GNWT asset. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I give notice that on Friday, September 29th, 2023, I will move the following motion:
Now therefore I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, that the Government of the Northwest Territories should agree to receive revenues from an excise duty in respect of the Northwest Territories as imposed as part of the federally legislated Vaping Products Excise Tax. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at a practical level, that's Department of MACA but, really, from a government fiscal perspective, I can say that the Department of Finance is looking quite closely at what we might get. There's a sliding scale for under the disaster financial assistance arrangements. That's the federal program that applies to all provinces and territories. When you get to a certain level, which we most certainly have hit, you can get up to 90 percent of eligible costs. And that's the tricky part, Mr. Speaker, is that I don't get to determine what the eligible costs are...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at present, there's two programs already operational, and they were both stood during the midst of the evacuation. The first one I'll speak to out of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. We changed the SEED program that a lot of businesses that are familiar with, added on a directive relating specifically to the wildfires. Under this program at present, there is a contribution amount of up to $5,000 for eligible costs that were incurred. There's also, under the BDIC, they've also had their board brought their board together and established a...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 162)
Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, I do have some remarks I want to make that I have drafted. I do want to just start by acknowledging the frustration that it has taken a long time and we are still in the process of completing the Mineral Resource Act regulations. And through that process, without the regulations, of course, this is where we wind up in this situation we are in. And there's a very real chance at the end of the drafting of the regulations when the entire process is complete, including royalties, there may well be a process in place by which the kind of disclosure that's made...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the wildfires, the floods, COVID have certainly impacted every single sector large and small. Larger businesses might have the ability to weather it better but that certainly doesn't make it any easier. It's also impacted all levels of government and it has impacted this government.
Mr. Speaker, we can't necessarily if I could plan for a large scale natural disaster, you'd see a budget line item for you know, to plan for the large scale emergency. We aren't able to plan for a large scale emergency by virtue of the fact that it's an emergency. What we can...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That one, Mr. Speaker, really does lay largely in the purview of the Premier's office. But given the multidepartment nature of the evacuations and the emergencies, quite a number of departments are working together to be in touch with their counterparts. I know ITI officials are in touch with their counterparts. But beyond that, we've also all been contributing to work that's happening out of the Premier's office. And with the invitation of the federal government, knowing that we're going to have some asks, to prepare a very thorough and complete look at what kind of...
