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. That, on its face, seems like an easily solved problem, so part of me wants to simply give the easy "yes," but at this point, again, I am not sure if there are other pieces of legislation, either domestic to the Northwest Territories, that we would have to comply with. I do not know the degree to which there would have to be associated amendments and associated regulation changes, et cetera. I just do not know the extent to which this is a problem or why it's the problem that it is. What I can certainly commit to doing is finding out why, why it is that we have this...
Mr. Speaker, I can say certainly, in the last eight months or so, I have not travelled that road, but in my past life, for some 10 years, I used to be on that road quite regularly, attending court in Behchoko. I am well aware that there are some spots where there simply is no coverage, and it's a safety risk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Thank you, Madam Chair. That certainly is a larger question around the structure and the function of the department. We are small fry in some of these respects and in some of the tasks that are being performed, in securities, for instance. That is not to say that we do not have some obligations, and some of those obligations are going to be legal obligations we have to maintain these registries and legal obligations that we have to perform the function of registering securities. I think there is always a desire for efficiencies in conversations being had. How far they are going, I am not sure...
I share the view that there should be a positive message in all of this. COVID-19 has been a very unique and unprecedented challenge. At the risk of saying what is being said department after department about the nature of this being unprecedented, for the students who aren't going to be getting the positions that they wanted or hoped for, again, if they are able to get a position through the casual pool, they will undoubtedly get an experience unlike anything they were otherwise going to get prior to the pandemic. If they don't get hired, again, we do have a number of strong programs in place...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I was just looking. My recollection is actually that those efforts have been made recently. Now, I am not sure what the status of it is. This is the challenge of COVID-19, not being able to have my little whispers in my ear, but certainly in my past life I know there was access to a lot of that information online. I am not sure if there is something specific that the Member wants to ask about what is not online.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's not so much that there was a hiring freeze, but the program that is administered by the Department of Finance certainly did put a hold on new offers to students. Any offers that were in place, those ones have been honoured, and those students have been employed. The reality was, Mr. Speaker, that bringing on several hundred potentially new employees at a time when our own employees are struggling to adapt to the current conditions and now are having to be asked to find a way to slowly return back to their workplaces, this is not a time to be bringing on a large...
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have the breakdown here, but I suspect Ms. Bolstad likely does.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Madam Chair, maybe that's a conversation that can also be had at Cabinet table, too, so the point is well taken. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Madam Chair, on my right is Charlene Doolittle, deputy minister of Justice, and on my left is Mandi Bolstad, director of Finance.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 27)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess the answer really is whether or not there is an organization in the territories that might bring that idea forward, because the fund isn't one to which the Department of Justice can direct. The Department of Justice, myself, we don't get to say to the committee what they should spend this money on. They are responsible for making those decisions. We have a lot of department support that we use to support the committee so that they can engage with communities, so that they can help the communities to develop programs. Indeed, Community Justice helps directly with...
