- Hunter Tootoo
Infobox_Politician
name = Hunter Tootoo
small| caption =
birth_date =August 18 ,1963
birth_place = Rankin Inlet,Nunavut
residence =
office = MLA forIqaluit Centre
term_start = 1999
term_end =
predecessor = first member
successor = incumbent
party = non-partisanconsensus government
religion =
occupation =Hunter Tootoo (born
August 18 ,1963 ) is a politician inNunavut ,Canada . He is a current member of theLegislative Assembly of Nunavut , and has also sought election to theCanadian House of Commons .Tootoo was born to an
Inuit family atRankin Inlet , in what was then a part of theNorthwest Territories (NWT). He is a businessman in northern Canada, and was the co-founder of theIqaluit branch of Arctic Insurance Brokers Ltd. Tootoo is a former member of the Northwest Territories Co-op Business Development Board, the Sport North Board of Directors, and Arctic Co-operatives Ltd.Tootoo also has extensive experience in government administration. He served as regional coordinator for the town of Arviat in
1993 . He became the administration officer for the NWT Department of Recreation and Tourism in1995 , and was named as the corporate control officer of the NWT Department of Finance later in the same year. In1997 , he became assistant director of the NWT Housing Corporation in Iqaluit. Tootoo was a member of thePublic Service Alliance of Canada in this period.He began his political career as a member of the Hamlet Council of Rankin Inlet. In the federal election of 1997, he ran for the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the
New Democratic Party in the riding of Nunavut. He finished third, behind LiberalNancy Karetak-Lindell . Tootoo spoke out against the Liberal government's gun registration program during this campaign.Nunavut became a separate jurisdiction in
1999 , and Tootoo declared himself a candidate for the territory's first general election. He was easily elected inIqaluit Centre , defeating three opponents. He was returned again in the 2004 election, although by a narrower margin.As of 2005 , he is chair of the standing committee on Government Operations. His priorities in the legislature have been education and housing.The government of Nunavut is structured along non-partisan lines, and all members are elected and serve as independents. Tootoo remains a member of the New Democratic Party, and has often been described as the unofficial leader of the legislative opposition. In
2003 , he successfully tabled a motion to removeJack Anawak from the Nunavut cabinet.Tootoo is the cousin of hockey player
Jordin Tootoo and the nephew ofManitoba politician George Hickes.External links
* [http://www.assembly.nu.ca/english/members/bios/tootoo.html Hunter Tootoo at the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut]
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