Tony Noakes settles out of court with Nunavut government

A former fire marshal in Nunavut says he has reached an out-of-court settlement with the territorial government.

Tony Noakes was fired as Nunavut's fire marshalin May 2010, close to the end of his one-year long probation period.

He filed a lawsuit against the Government of Nunavut in 2012.

Im very excited that we actually did get a settlement, he said. I was not expecting something so soon. I thought it would take a lot longer.

Noakes believed at the time that he was fired for voicing concerns about overcrowded and unsafe conditions at the Baffin Correctional Centre. He received a letter of termination days after meeting with the RCMP to discuss whether criminal negligence charges should be laid with regard to conditions at the jail.

"It shouldn't be allowed. My recommendations were to fix this immediately by way of maybe closing the facility and moving the prisoners elsewhere," Noakes told CBC News at the time.

Noakes saidhis legal ordeal hasnt given him any more insight into why exactly he was let go, but says he's pleased the legal case is over. He says its been difficult to move on with the shadow of a termination behind him, and he looks forward to becoming a senior fire officer in southern Canada.

Nows a point in my life where I can actually move on from here and continue with my fire service career.

Noakes saidhe can't discuss details of the settlement, but he is grateful for the support he received as the case was underway.

I received several emails, messages from people from coast to coast, family, people in the fire service, just saying, you know, Youve got to do what youve got to do when it comes to something that you believe in, no matter how big the issue is or the challenge."