Paul Quassa quits Nunavut legislature after 40 years in politics

Nunavut Speaker Paul Quassa hasresigned from his role as MLA for Aggu.

The news was first reported by Nunatsiaq News. Quassaconfirmed his resignation to the CBCand saidhe is done with politics.He said he's been thinking about the decision since the spring.

"I really cherishthe 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 thatwe see somebody else there. And I have great confidence in in the next person that's going to be elected."

Quassa waselected asthe Nunavut premier in 2017, but was ousted in 2018, though he continued in his role asMLA 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 MLAsdon't agree with you," he said.

His resignation, which will beeffective as of Aug. 13, comes just shy of the end of his term, with Nunavut's general upcoming election scheduled for Oct. 25.

Quassasaidhe wanted to give others the chance to be in leadership, and in particular, he encouragedyoung 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.