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.
Yes, our Chief Public Health Officer does have significant authority and has been very much involved with Cabinet and with all of the government in terms of identifying potential events to which she would want to exercise her authority to cancel an event, and she is doing so in a way that is responsive and continuously responsive as the situation has unfolded with COVID.
Notices have gone out to communities. Notices have gone out to Indigenous governments in order to bring their information in to the public health officer and to the GNWT so that all of these different parts can be working...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, all departments have been acting on emergency preparedness now for some time, and there are response plans being developed by every department. Business plans are being looked at by every department to plan for the contingencies, and I believe the next meeting of all deputy ministers, in fact, is this Monday to determine whether or not they need to run any special scenarios in anticipation of the change in situation. I hope that answers the Member's question. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I do know that this act was one that had significant input from the entire House and was better for it. I'm not opposed to bringing things forward to the relevant committee, and I will certainly endeavour to provide an update to the committee as to the exact state of which policies and where things are at. I can't see why we wouldn't engage in that sort of a briefing; I just don't know what timeline it will take place in the current circumstances.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The full act is expected to be implemented in the winter of 2021, but there's a phased approached taking place, and some of the corrections regulations will be online, I anticipate as early as this spring. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 19)
Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate the indulgence. We are all working diligently this morning on a number of things. I have here with me Mr. Sandy Kalgutkar. He is the deputy minister of Finance.
Debates of
, 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 19)
Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. Madam Chair, I am here to present the Supplementary Estimates (Infrastructure Expenditures), No. 1, 2020-2021. The supplementary estimates document proposes an increase of $28.7 million, comprised of the following items:
$10 million to fund environmental assessment and planning work to be completed in 2023-2024, to inform the potential construction of an all-weather road from Highway No. 4 to Lockhart Lake within the Slave Geological Province Corridor. Of this amount, 75 percent will be funding by the Government of Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund;
Yes, the small communities and the needs of small communities have been at the heart and at the center of a lot of the considerations that have gone into the planning that is under way. I know that there are going to be some differences. Hesitancy now isn't the lack of a plan. Hesitancy is that I want to ensure that I am speaking with the most current information on behalf of all the departments.
Obviously, the House is aware that, right now, our Premier is actually on a phone call with the Prime Minister and other first Ministers. It would be helpful, I think, to know what has been discussed...
It's difficult to make commitments on the part of money that is coming from a different government, but I can say that my understanding at this point is that the full panoply of options coming out of the federal government will come in different avenues. There are likely to be some direct supports to our health sector, and then, also, other supports that are going to go through the business sector. To the extent that they come through the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Government of the Northwest Territories is going to ensure that we are acting promptly and swiftly to make sure...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, the Department of Finance began running models on potential impacts of the coronavirus already some time ago. We continue to update those models as the situation progresses, and we are also, of course, in contact with our partners in the federal government. The federal government has already announced funding coming through to all provinces and territories to support the incurring of expenses, but also to support the impacts, such as impacts to small businesses and to individuals.
In short, a simple answer is yes. We are well aware that there is going to be...
Yes. This is a whole-of-government approach that is being taken right now. All of the departments are involved, multiple Ministers are involved, multiple deputy heads are involved, and I certainly can assure the Member and the public that various scenarios have been run, starting firstly with the health Department and their staff, but also including all the other staff and the essential services that are provided throughout the communities. They're considering the fact that we have to fly people into communities to provide those services. Everything from power and housing, straight down to...
