Unrepentant Arvaluk handed jail term for beating

Nunavut's former education minister, James Arvaluk has been sent to prison for the next nine months. Arvaluk was found guilty of assault causing bodily harm last June for an August 2000 assault on his former girlfriend.

Nunavut judge Earle Johnson told an Iqaluit courtroom Monday that Arvaluk has shown no remorse for beating his former girlfriend.

She received 14 stitches to the inside of her mouth and says she still has no feeling in her lower lip.

The judge says Arvaluk has not apologized for his crime or shown any effort to resolve his problems with alcohol and violence against women.

He rejected a defence request for a conditional sentence to be served in the community, and sent Arvaluk to jail.

Arvaluk, who has maintained his innocence throughout the case, was not pleased. He says he acted in self defence and was trying to stop the fight from happening in the first place.

But Crown prosecutor Steve White says he's satisfied with the judge's decision.

"We hope that people will be deterred from engaging in this type of activity and it sends a message that they shouldn't abuse their spouses or partners," he says.

Arvaluk was also sentenced to 18 months probation.

He's prohibited from drinking alcohol during that period and must get couselling for anger management and alcohol addiction.

After the sentencing, an RCMP officer led Arvaluk into a police van, shut the door and drove away.

It's the second time Arvaluk has gone to jail for violence against women.

In 1995, he was forced to resign from the Northwest Territories legislature. Arvaluk spent two-and-a-half years behind bars after being convicted of sexual assault.