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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Minister
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Statements in Debates

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. It is part of the consolidated revenue fund. Thank you.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think some of those conversations were perhaps already even under way before the life of this government. I can certainly assure the Member that it is something that I am already engaging with our federal counterparts on. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Madam Chair, I am going to apologize in advance. I think I was busy getting part number one settled and may not have entirely caught number two, but let me do my best. New hires that are P1: the percent total is 24.1 percent in 2019, April 1 to April 31, 2019, so not a full year. That's 24.1 percent. The second part is gone. I apologize, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. The question I think I'm answering is: why the rates are low in terms of our profits? There have been reduced sales across Canada, in many jurisdictions, so, in that regard we would not be alone. I'm sorry, Madam Chair, if I did not fully answer the Member's question.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. We do engage regularly with the Canada Revenue Agency. I haven't had that opportunity to have that engagement as of yet, but I would assure the Member and commit to the Member that, when that opportunity does come up, I will raise at that point whether or not a more efficient system can be found to ensure that it saves time, really, for everybody. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I think I have made a previous commitment in another forum to do a better job of reporting on that and to ensure that those reports are made in a timely fashion. Indeed, I also think that I may have made a commitment, at one point or another, to take the draft document before preparing the report to committee so that they can have some input on what that report is going to look like. I expect that commitment is going to be fulfilled very soon so that reporting can be done in a way that is transparent and is as useable and functional as possible. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. At the moment, projections are for the next two fiscal years; we would be within the borrowing limit, but it's the third year of this life of this government that the current projection is that we would be at risk of exceeding it. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't have the annual human resources report in front of me. Specific numbers are something that, I said earlier and I'll say it again, I'll certainly get the specific numbers of the total percent that were eligible to file appeals and some breakdowns in terms of what I may be able to provide additionally about the outcomes on appeals. I'm a bit challenged to describe the specifics of any appeal, because, obviously, the specifics of what makes for an appeal are the specifics of each appeal, but we may be able to put an aggregate together to describe, perhaps, the top...

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 11)

Madam Chair, that's fine. I have no problem making that commitment. On the theme of there being some fees that are being paid for the management of the fund, I point out again that the fund is actually doing better as a result of that. So, it is my hope that that's going to be overall, that we will see a positive return on our investment for having sought those fees. Obviously, if that's not turning out to be the case, since that change is fairly new, then further change can be looked at. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Debates of , 19th Assembly, 2nd Session (day 10)

I apologize to the Member. I had missed that part. The review is being done by FWCO Management Consultants. Now, with respect, Mr. Speaker, to the work being done by Victim Services providers in the communities, I have had the opportunity of working directly, prior to being in this role, with some of the individuals who provide Victim Services. They do tremendous work. They do often go above and beyond.

As for cleaning up crime scenes, that is the very first time I have ever heard that, and I would certainly hope I can speak to the Member further if that is, in fact, the case. That said, with...