Published 4:42 pm Tuesday, November 3, 2026 By William Koblensky Varela Local Journalism Initaitive Northern News Service Tununiq MLA Brian Koonoo said there are “10,000 reasons” why he resigned from his roles as minister of Energy, Environment, Languages, Culture and Heritage. His immediate family had a hard time adjusting to life in Iqaluit after moving from Pond Inlet, hunting wasn’t the same, and he wants to ask Government of Nunavut ministers questions in the legislative assembly, Koonoo told Nunavut News on Nov. 3. “We moved here and adjusting to the city life compared to the small communities, and it’s been quite difficult to be away from my other family in Pond Inlet,” he said. “It’s a strong change that I went through for a year, and I want our families to go back together.” Koonooo’s extended family is still in Pond Inlet, and the separation was causing a strain on life at home, he said. It will take a couple of weeks before he can move his immediate family back to their home community. “I was worried about my children, their education — and it’s quite different from the education they’re receiving back home. So that one is the main reason, and the main reason is they’re homesick,” he said. Ministerial responsibilities kept Koonoo in Iqaluit longer than he would stay as a regular MLA. On Nov. 2, Premier John Main announced Koonoo had resigned from the GN cabinet, and that his roles would be taken over by ministers Annie Tattuinee and Cecile Nelvana Lyall, for now. Koonoo was smiling when he entered the legislative assembly on Nov. 3. Missing out on hunting in Pond Inlet is another reason Koonoo cited for stepping down. “I’m a hunter. It’s different here in Iqaluit. Providing for my family, I missed that feeling,” he said. He added that he didn’t have differences of opinion with the government, and that he wants to become a minister again in the future. Elected as an MLA for the first time in October 2025, Koonoo took on four departmental portfolios as a rookie. “It was not easy,” he said. “There was a learning process and a lot of struggling, and a lot of sacrifice had to be made to change.” Now that he’s no longer a minister, Koonoo is looking forward to questioning members of cabinet in the House. During the Nov. 3 sitting, he asked sought answers from Family Services Minister Gwen Healey Akearok and Health Minister Janet Pitsiulak Brewster. Koonoo asked Akearok if Family Services could reduce the amount of paperwork for Nunavummiut on income assistance. The 4,470 Nunavut households on income assistance are subject to monthly eligibility reviews, Akearok said. “We’re listening, and we’re hearing this feedback,” she said. “We’re taking it into account as we plan the next steps for what those revisions to the act and regulations might look like.” Koonoo asked Brewster if more country food could be served at the Sailijaaqvik Boarding Home in Iqaluit for medical travellers. Brewster said her department has received complaints about that, as well as a lack of cultural programming at the boarding home, and changes are in progress. “The boarding home now has a direct relationship with a vendor purchasing (country food) to provide weekly (country food) to travellers at the boarding home, and we’re currently just organizing to design a set of standards for all boarding home contracts to ensure there’s consistency with services, meals and programs,” the minister said.
Brian Koonoo says he resigned as minister to reunite his family in Pond Inlet
