Paul Quassa quits Nunavut legislature after 40 years in politics
Nunavut Speaker Paul Quassa has resigned from his role as MLA for Aggu.
The news was first reported by Nunatsiaq News. Quassa confirmed his resignation to the CBC and said he is done with politics. He said he's been thinking about the decision since the spring.
"I really cherish the time that I spent [in] my life here at the Legislative Assembly," Quassa said.
"I knew that I could do at least two terms. And once … that term is up, I think it's high time that we see somebody else there. And I have great confidence in in the next person that's going to be elected."
Quassa was elected as the Nunavut premier in 2017, but was ousted in 2018, though he continued in his role as MLA for Aggu.
He said he stayed on because he made a commitment to represent his community.
"No matter what happens, you just continue, keep going because you were elected ... you're representing your community. You cannot just stop there just because the other MLAs don't agree with you," he said.
His resignation, which will be effective as of Aug. 13, comes just shy of the end of his term, with Nunavut's general upcoming election scheduled for Oct. 25.
Quassa said he wanted to give others the chance to be in leadership, and in particular, he encouraged young people to step forward and consider the opportunity of running for MLA.
"I thought this would be the right timing after talking with my family and my constituents, that it would be only right for me to step down and give other opportunities," he said.
"I believe that our young people should really go for it, because again, we have to remember that at least 60 per cent of our population is under 25. So, you know, that's a big population to represent. And I think it is high time that we start getting new ideas, new challenges, and then young people can make that difference."
Though he didn't say specifically what he plans to do next, Quassa hinted it might be something in the public sphere.
"I'm looking forward to do something else where I can speak my mind on behalf of Inuit and Nunavut," he said.
