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, I had a very lovely visit in Fort Resolution last year when I was there, so -- and I can't make commitments obviously for the Premier or his schedule. I know I've already got a visit myself planned in April but certainly happy to see -- Fort Resolution is not that hard for us to get to. If we can work together and find a date in April, I'm happy to try. And if I can't, it may well be that the Premier's able to. But, again -- so let's try and see if we can make some dates work. I know that the housing Minister's nodding as I'm speaking, so at the very least...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 49)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. So that was a one-time contribution because of the losses that arose from having a low water season. Now, we are planning this year around low water from the perspective of our fuel services division and ensuring that we bring a full 100 percent value of fuel into those communities that would have otherwise depended upon reservicing, certainly in the Sahtu, from having the barges on the anticipation that we may face, again, a low water season. The High Arctic communities are not expected at this point to require anything other than barging and so in that sense, we would...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 48)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. On my left, Jeffrey Nichols, senior legislative advisor at the Department of Infrastructure. And on my right, Sue McKinney as the legislative counsel from the Department of Justice. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I don't believe that it has, Mr. Speaker, but, again, this is where I do want to be cautious. I'll want to just confirm that I've got the right numbers and the right dates and will certainly by Monday have something on the table to the House just to confirm. It is an area where we do want residents to have accurate information and information that is, you know, certainly not seen as being advice from me or necessarily from the department. They should be seeking that from tax professionals. So to the extent that I can confirm that or provide access to those...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we certainly have in the past, through Department of Finance, tried to work with CRA to encourage them to have a more flexible approach to determining what the lowest return airfare is. They do now have a tool that they put out. As far as them requiring or requesting the private actors to do that, Mr. Speaker, I can't say that I've certainly myself had any direct requests to them to do that. This issue did come up just recently from the MLA, and I haven't necessarily been able to sort of determine who to ask. In fact, there's been some change obviously of...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that actually is an opportunity to raise something that has been changing in the last couple of years where some of the vehicles that are used by the GNWT staff and fleet are installing satellite-based technology in those vehicles. This is not a perfect solution but certainly if folks are finding themselves in need on the highways, our staff now are better placed to actually provide cell coverage. And, Mr. Speaker, there's other opportunities that we may be able to use, again, to set up towers that would be localized at key points. Again, so just to provide...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I certainly am happy to confirm and to commit that we will take a look at the design. Certainly, this project began pre-COVID, and the world has changed significantly since then and continues to change. So if this presents us an opportunity now today to ensure that we are truly looking at the opportunities tomorrow, then I'm happy to take that opportunity. Thank you.
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 48)
[Translation] And Zachary Messier who are from Allain St-Cyr School in Yellowknife, and they're both residents of Yellowknife South. [Translation Ends].
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 48)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I am here to present Bill 11, An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicles Act.
Bill 11 is a package of amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, which include changing how information held by the registrar of motor vehicles can be shared.
First, Bill 11 will protect consumers by allowing anyone shopping for a used vehicle to independently verify its registration history.
Second, the bill will support the NWT Bureau of Statistics to conduct its population count by allowing the registrar to share information from driver's licenses with government agencies.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's always a bit of hesitancy to be seen to be giving or suggesting how people should go about their taxes, but I take that point and I certainly commit to go back to the department and make sure that we are sharing what we can about where to access more information, what to do if people are uncertain about where to go with questions around CRA and to use their calculating -- calculators. So, again, I'll go back and make sure that our comms folks are active in this space and we're doing what we can to help educate residents. Thank you.
