Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq takes two-month health leave

OTTAWA — Nunavut’s lone MP says she’s taking eight weeks away from work on advice from her doctor.

Mumilaaq Qaqqaq says she’s been dealing with unspecified health problems in the year since she was elected to represent the northern territory.

Qaqqaq has been an outspoken critic of the federal government’s treatment of the North in general and Inuit in particular.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s undertaken a tour of northern housing conditions, pointing out overcrowding, substandard materials and the deterioration of many units into “mould boxes.”

In September, Qaqqaq told the Nunavut News that she was undecided whether she’d run for re-election.

She says her health condition has nothing to do with COVID-19 and she’ll be back at work soon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2020.

The Canadian Press