Nunavut members to vote on removing premier

Nunavut could have a new leader before the week is out — less than a year after Premier Paul Quassa was chosen.

John Main, who represents the community of Arviat in the territorial legislature, has told the assembly that he will be introducing a motion Thursday that would require Quassa to step down.

“It’s a motion of non-confidence,” Main said Tuesday.

He was unwilling to immediately discuss the reasons for the motion.

“In terms of the motion and the reasoning behind it, that will all be discussed in the house,” he said.

The motion could have a good chance of succeeding. Main is chairman of the regular members caucus, which — under the rules of Nunavut’s consensus government — consists of all members of the legislature who aren’t in cabinet. He said the motion was widely discussed in that caucus, which functions as a kind of opposition.

“There’s a degree of confidence (in the vote),” he said. “It’s not something that would be brought up on a whim without consideration of available options and voicing of opinions within the caucus.”

A simple majority of the legislature’s 22 members would be enough to bring Quassa down. There are 13 regular members.

Quassa declined requests for an interview.

If the motion succeeds, a new premier will have to be selected. In Nunavut, the premier and cabinet are chosen by vote from among all members.

Normally, that happens shortly after a general election. That’s how Quassa was chosen premier last November.