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 have on many an occasion provided this House, both this government and the last, with my own frustrations with this carbon tax and the bit of stink I've raised with the federal Ministers responsible for putting us in the situation we are in.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, again, happy to go and look at it and if there's a way that I can appropriately and responsibly get ourselves out from underneath this tax, that's fine. It's not really a time where I necessarily want to try to stick it to the federal government or make something difficult or suggest that we're...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, until there's a change in the federal legislation, we are still obligated to comply with some form of carbon taxation and so, again, pending what may or may not be happening on a federal level or when, then we will certainly want to make sure that we're ready, and it's very helpful and handy to have something at the ready when that day comes. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's -- obviously, there's staff across the departments that are involved in this work but, quite specifically, there actually are individuals from the education councils who are involved, as I said, on this committee that's supposed to start moving some of these actions forward and supposed to be monitoring the success of them. The education councils are somewhat separate certainly from what may be happening in ECE, and so it was important to have them included and involved. The problems and challenges they may have could be quite different and...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a particular one that I read several of the individual EESSs for individual departments as well as for the GNWT as a whole, and there's often an interesting correlation between when information is not flowing and then what that can do to the overall morale in an individual place. So this is one of some particular interest to me, so -- and, again, on this one, Mr. Speaker, this is where each department, because there are often different processes and different types of hierarchies within them are expected to have those individualized plans. Again, I...
Mr. Speaker, I'm going to take a look at Hansard and decide whether or not a comparison between myself and Mr. Trump warrants some further proceeding -- procedural question. I'm going to leave it alone for the moment and I can, as I said, look back at Hansard and make that consideration in due course.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly did attempt to take this back to committee. I actually was able to arrange an opportunity to meet with committee, but the committee declined to meet with me. And then because of all the things had gone to the media, including confidential letters marked from my office to...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there's not been a time that I've suggested that what we're trying to do is encouraging the southern -- host of folks from the southern parts of Canada to come to the Northwest Territories. I'd be actually quite interested to see if there was suddenly a line-up at the border of folks wanting to come for the public service here. It might be suggestive of this being a very positive place to come and work. Mr. Speaker, our population's been stagnant for 20 years. Right now over the last four years, the average population growth for the Northwest Territories is...
Debates of
, 20th Assembly, 1st Session (day 38)
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise the House I intend to deliver the Budget Address on Thursday, February 6th, 2025. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to table the following ten documents: Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 305-20(1): Heating Oil (Infrastructure); Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 323-20(1): Dempster Highway and Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway Conditions; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 325-20(1): Project Cost Overruns; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 343-20(1): Impacts of Climate Change on Winter and Ice Roads; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 374-20(1): Mackenzie Valley Fibre Line Backup; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 421-20(1): Regulations for E-Scooters; Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 333...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that the expression of interest that should be going out for the public will be ready in 2025, early 2025. That then goes out to seek the expressions of interest. We're hopefully going to be looking to get four to eight new members on. That will help to then transition off several of the existing board members who obviously do have other responsibilities. And we'd be keeping, of course -- I shouldn't say of course, we are looking to keep at least two GNWT members on the board; we are the sole shareholder. But that transition...
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Thebacha that Bill 16, Appropriation Act (Infrastructure Expenditures), 2025-2026, be read for the third time. Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote. Thank you.
