Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok could find himself removed from office on Wednesday.
Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki issued a notice of a motion during Monday’s sitting of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly that he plans to bring a motion to have Akeeagok removed from his position.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Malliki, who is the chair of the regular members’ caucus, said one of their main concerns is a lack of transparency.
“There’s so much frustration in the regular members’ caucus,” he said. “There’s no transparency in this government.”
Malliki said non-cabinet MLAs have not been receiving answers to their inquiries since the beginning of the assembly’s formation, despite it being something he said Akeeagok made a feature of his election campaign.
“When [he] was campaigning for [the] premiership, that’s one of the things that he was going to do,” Malliki said. “But it’s not there.”
‘My door has always been open’
There are eight members of cabinet in Nunavut, including the premier, and 13 regular MLAs.
Malliki said there were other reasons behind his upcoming motion, but wouldn’t say what those were.
Speaking to reporters immediately after Malliki, Akeeagok said he was surprised by Malliki’s notice.
“My door has always been open,” Akeeagok said.
He also said Malliki’s claims of a lack of transparency coming from the government are false.
“We’ve provided every update in terms of progress we’ve been able to make,” Akeeagok said. “We’ve provided updates not only to the house, updates through news releases or progress reports we’ve done.”
Akeeagok also said he wants to know specifically which areas Malliki is referring to.
“Right from the beginning, we’ve been open,” Akeeagok said. “We’ve been focused on bringing partners together to tackle huge issues, whether it’s housing or the work we’re doing with Inuit organizations.”
Akeeagok also said he hopes to speak with Malliki to address any concerns MLAs may have, saying he takes those very seriously.
It’s not the first time this has happened in the territory. Former Nunavut premier Paul Quassa was ousted in 2018 after regular MLAs voted to remove him.
Malliki said he anticipates a debate on the motion before MLAs vote on it on Wednesday. If the vote is successful and Akeeagok is removed from office, Malliki said he doesn’t know if there will be a new premier immediately afterward or who will be the next premier.