Caroline Wawzonek

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
Email
Extension
12177
Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Infrastructure, and Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation
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Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, let me take that one away. I will say we have changed the way we report on materials and information over the last few years, and I will go and have some conversations about what is here, what reasons there may be for and against, and get back to the House with that information.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, my understanding at this point is that this is still at a strategic stage and as such, I don't expect it entirely guarantees the full delivery of the new system. That said, it is certainly an important and critical sort of step in that regard. So I do expect to hear more from this over the next year, certainly over the life of this government. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. So if I'm understanding correctly, just the idea of trying to show the lapsing rather than showing only the carryovers and in a different manner, or. I'm not entirely sure, Madam Chair, I apologize as to how to solve this problem for the Member.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, so this is being yes, it is being transferred over to ITI because the complexity of the Mineral Resources Act regulations and what is being entailed there on the electronic side makes most sense to have the two working handinhand. So, you know, looking to have the two come together one in the same time. I'm not sure if we have a date here necessarily. If we do, I'm sure someone's going to give it to me in a moment. But my understanding is that the intention is that the two projects are working in tandem.

It's more than just online map staking, Madam Chair...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it should be $64,740,000 I believe, Madam Chair. Let me just confirm that or actually, I'll just ask the deputy minister if he has the page open in front of him.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's just delayed in some fashion and that's why it's being carried over for completion. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, on my left is the deputy minister of finance, Bill MacKay, and on my right is Terence Courtoreille, deputy secretary to the financial management board.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I mean, departments certainly don't need to apply to carry over their funds. I mean, that's where we get into the situation where, you know, each department does have their projects for which they are responsible. Obviously Infrastructure has a fair chunk that they're delivering on behalf of others as well. But it is up to an individual department if they want to seek to have a carryover or not. I would, yeah, and I can't really speak for those individual decisions. But if it overtly doesn't meet the criteria of the "carryover" definition, that may be a reason not to...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 117)

Madam Chair, take that to the deputy secretary, please.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 116)

Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, you might recall that during COVID, we actually had increased the supplementary reserve to I believe it was $60 million. So that certainly is there is an option to increase. We kept it at 35, which is higher than it traditionally had been, and it may well be that for Budget 2023 we want to look at moving back up again. So again, certainly under consideration. As I say, that's a number that has moved around during COVID. So thank you, I appreciate the idea. Thank you.