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, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if a fairness advisor, for example, were to identify that there was any irregularity or concern raised, a procurement can be paused and a procurement certainly can be -- we can make a decision not to continue. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, we certainly want to ensure that fundamentally that the reputation of the government to follow through with procurements when they've put out is maintained and that they continue to do so in a transparent fashion. So there are quite a number of rules that are associated to conducting a procurement and to conducting a...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Finance does oversee the process, and there certainly are occasions where there'll be discussion back and forth, particularly at an operational level, to ensure that the quality of everything that's being brought forward meets the standards that we were expecting them to meet, that when it comes to the financial management board, the financial management board becomes satisfied as information that we require. And also, Mr. Speaker, the financial management board has the benefit of an entity known as the management board secretariat.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake that Bill 38, Supplementary Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026, be read for the third time. And, Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wanted to start by saying that the number of times a committee meets doesn't address the root causes of trauma, and that's certainly to say right now -- I'll certainly be more than happy to go back to the department and through the business planning, overseeing that we do make sure that our commitments are more clear than simply the number of times a committee meets.
With respect to training, though, Mr. Speaker, the frontline public service staff -- well, all public service staff, those writing policies, those interacting with individuals, those who are trying to direct the work...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just have a couple comments on process. I'm not going to get into anyone's views of who's -- Mr. Speaker, just a couple words on process. I think I'll leave it at that.
Mr. Speaker, I do agree with the comments just now. Consensus is not unanimity. That's not the point. Consensus is a process. It involves conversations and discussions and information sharing in this government. I can't speak for the 16th or 17th or 18th Assembly, but the 19th and the 20th Assembly, it's a process that begins over the course of many months, a lot of information sharing...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the point of having the business plans is exactly to provide a venue and a vehicle for doing this exact work, providing us a four-year timeline so that this House can actually and effectively look at whether or not the department is achieving the business plan as set out, whether or not they should be questioned during the course of main estimates, whether or not the funding that's being proposed in main estimates aligns to what they're seeing in the business plans. The Department of Finance does set out a template. We do have expectations of what goes in...
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Bill 36, Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2026-2027, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Northwest Territories is at the heart of several transformative projects that are vital not only to our territory's future, but to Canada's strength, security, and prosperity.
The Government of the Northwest Territories' major infrastructure initiatives are nation-building in scale and critical to Canada's long-term presence and leadership in the Arctic. Together, they unlock access to critical minerals, deliver clean and reliable power, and create resilient north-south transportation links that strengthen sovereignty, emergency preparedness, and supply chains, while creating...
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Kam Lake, that Bill 38, Supplementary Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 2, 2025-2026, be read for the second time. This bill makes supplementary appropriations for infrastructure expenditures of the Government of the Northwest Territories for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North that Bill 36, Appropriation Act, (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2026-2027, be read for the second time. This bill authorizes the Government of the Northwest Territories to make appropriations for infrastructure expenditures for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
