Samuel Nuqingaq is a Canadian,

Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...

politician from

Qikiqtarjuaq Qikiqtarjuaq (; formerly known as Broughton Island until November 1998 ,) is a community located on Broughton Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. The island is known for Arctic wildlife (ring seals, polar bears, bowhead whales, ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Apr ...

in the 2013 election. He was expelled from the legislature in 2014.

Political career

Election

Nuqinqaq ran for election in the electoral district of

Uqqummiut Uqqummiut ( iu, ᐅᕐᒃᑯᒻᒥᐅᑦ, Inuinnaqtun: Uqqurmiut) is a territorial electoral district ( riding) for the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Canada. The riding consists of the communities of Clyde River and Qikiqtarjuaq. The Membe ...

which was one of two ridings to report a tie on election night in the 2013 election. In the original count of the ballots he was tied with Niore Iqalukjuak at 187 votes each. A recount was held November 5, 2013, and Nuqingaq was found to have 187 votes to Iqalukjuak's 185.Nunavut recounts produce one winner and one intractable deadlock
''

Nunatsiaq News ''Nunatsiaq News'' ( iu, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕐᒥ ᐱᕙᓪᓕᐊᔪᑦ, italic=no) is a Canadian weekly newspaper in operation since 1973 based in Iqaluit, serving Nunavut and Nunavik, in Kativik, Quebec, Kativik, Nord-du-Québec. The paper is publ ...

'', November 5, 2013.

Suspension

Nuqingaq was suspended without pay from the legislature, including all caucus and committee meetings, on March 6, 2014 until the spring sitting. Earlier, he had been disciplined for missing two days of orientation and the beginning of the leadership forum. The suspension was extended through July 16 after being charged with assault and unlawfully being in a dwelling house. He spent much of the summer in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

undergoing treatment for an alcohol addiction before returning to the legislature on September 22.

Expulsion

On 24 October 2014, Nunavut MLAs unanimously passed a motion to expel Nuqingaq, which vacated his seat immediately and forced a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. In moving the motion, Justice Minister

Paul Okalik Paul Okalik ( iu, ᐹᓪ ᐅᑲᓕᖅ, ; born May 26, 1964) is a Canadian politician. He is the first Inuk to have been called to the Nunavut Bar. He was also the first premier of Nunavut. On November 4, 2010, he was elected Speaker of the Legi ...

claimed that the legislature had spent too much time dealing with Nuqingaq's behaviour, and the public interest demanded his expulsion. He noted that Nuqingaq had been disciplined for "unacceptable conduct, including persistent absences from sittings of the House and meetings of its committees and caucuses without reasonable explanation."Nunavut MLA expelled from legislature in unanimous vote
''

'', October 24, 2014.

References

Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut 21st-century Canadian politicians Inuit from the Northwest Territories Inuit politicians People from Qikiqtarjuaq People expelled from public office Inuit from Nunavut Year of birth missing (living people) {{Nunavut-politician-stub