Paul Quassa
Paul Quassa | |
---|---|
4th Premier of Nunavut | |
In office November 21, 2017 – June 14, 2018 | |
Commissioner | Nellie Kusugak |
Preceded by | Peter Taptuna |
Succeeded by | Joe Savikataaq |
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Aggu | |
In office October 28, 2013 – August 13, 2021 | |
Preceded by | district created |
Succeeded by | Joanna Quassa |
11th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut | |
In office February 26, 2020 – August 13, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Simeon Mikkungwak |
Succeeded by | Tony Akoak |
Personal details | |
Born | consensus government | January 12, 1952
Relatives | Joanna Quassa (sister in-law) |
Occupation | indigenous land claims negotiator, journalist and MLA in Nunavut |
Paul Aarulaaq Quassa (born January 12, 1952)[1] is a Canadian politician who served as the fourth premier of Nunavut from November 2017 to June 2018. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, representing Aggu from 2013 until 2021.[2]
An
Early life
Quassa was born in Manitok, a hunting camp near Igloolik.[3] Born in an igloo, he was raised for the first years of his life in what he described as "the Inuit traditional way of life", part of the last generation to do so. At the age of six, he was taken to a Canadian Indian residential school in Churchill, Manitoba.[4]
Land claims work
He returned to Igloolik in 1972 to work on land claims and served as president of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut in the early 1990s.[5] He was one of the negotiators of, and a signatory of, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement settlement that led to the establishment of Nunavut.[3][6]
He was dropped from the presidency of TFN in 1992 following allegations of sexual assault against a woman,[7] but received a discharge in court[8] and was subsequently reinstated as president of the organization and the successor Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.[9] Quassa also worked as a journalist with CBC North, the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and Isuma Productions.[4]
Political career
First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in the
He was reelected in the
Vote of no confidence
On June 14, 2018, he lost a non-confidence vote by 16–3, with two abstentions. The
Quassa was replaced as Premier by former deputy premier Joe Savikataaq.[13]
On February 26, 2020, he was selected as the new Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut following the resignation of Simeon Mikkungwak from the legislature the previous day.[14] He did not seek re-election in 2021.
References
- ^ "Paul Quassa Testimony". Isuma, November 2007.
- ^ Jeff Pelletier, "Nunavut votes: Aggu up for grabs following Quassa’s departure". Nunatsiaq News, October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Paul Quassa will be Nunavut's next premier". CBC News. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018.
- ^ a b c "Meet Paul Quassa, Nunavut's new premier". Maclean's. 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017.
- Montreal Gazette. 27 March 1990.
- ^ Weber, Bob (17 November 2017). "Longtime Inuit politician Paul Quassa chosen as new premier of Nunavut". CTV News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
- ^ "Inuit land negotiator charged in assault". Edmonton Journal. 31 January 1992.
- Hamilton Spectator. 27 February 1992.
- Montreal Gazette. 22 June 2000.
- ^ "2 seats tied, Eva Aariak loses in Nunavut election". CBC News. 27 October 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
- ^ "'Very representative': Paul Quassa calls selection of 19 Inuit law students 'successful'". CBC North. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
- ^ Brown, Beth (14 June 2018). "Nunavut premier removed by non-confidence vote". Nunatsiaq News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2018.
- ^ Weber, Bob (14 June 2018). "After Paul Quassa ejected, Nunavut chooses deputy as new premier". CTV News. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018.
- Nunavut News, February 26, 2020.