Pauloosie Keyootak

Pauloosie Keyootak is a Canadian Inuk politician from Broughton Island, Northwest Territories, now Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, representing the electoral district of Uqqummiut, in a by-election on February 9, 2015.^[2] He won the by-election over Niore Iqalukjuak, who had been the second-place candidate behind Samuel Nuqingaq in the 2013 election, and former MLA James Arreak.^[2]

Pauloosie Keyootak MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for Uqqummiut
In office February 9, 2015 – September 20, 2021
Preceded by	Samuel Nuqingaq
Succeeded by	Mary Killiktee
Personal details
Born	1953 or 1954 (age 70–71)^[1]
Political party	non-partisan consensus government
Residence	Qikiqtarjuaq

Keyootak is a resident of Qikiqtarjuaq.^[2] He was formerly a president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, who was removed from that position in 2000 for reportedly violating the organization's code of conduct, although the organization has never disclosed the nature of the alleged violation.^[2] He subsequently served on the municipal council in Qikiqtarjuaq, and on the board of directors of Arctic Co-op.^[3]

Attempted travel to Pangnirtung

On March 22, 2016 Keyootak, his son and another adult, left Iqaluit by snowmobile for Pangnirtung. When they did not arrive, search and rescue teams from both Iqaluit and Pangnirtung were sent out on March 29. A specially equipped Lockheed C-130 Hercules of 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron based at CFB Greenwood was sent by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax. In addition, a local Twin Otter with spotters were dispatched to assist with the search. Officials said that a CH-149 Cormorant along with a second Hercules, to relieve the first, had been dispatched. Ed Zebedee, emergency services coordinator for the Government of Nunavut, said that the search was the 5th of the Easter weekend and the 58th of the year. On March 31, the three were found alive 160 km (99 mi) south of Iqaluit, Pangnirtung is about 297 km (185 mi) north. They were spotted from the Twin Otter which landed near the travellers. The Twin Otter was damaged on landing and was unable to take off and a CH-149 Cormorant picked up the men.^{[4][5][6][7][1]}

Electoral record

2017 Nunavut general election
	Name	Vote	%
	Pauloosie Keyootak	235
	Jerry Natanine	191
	Johnathan Palluq	118

2015 By-election
	Name	Vote	%
	Pauloosie Keyootak	220	42.3%
	Niore Iqalukjuak	195	37.5%
	James Arreak	105	20.2%
Total Valid Ballots		520	100%
Voter Turnout 70.5%		Rejected Ballots 0

References

1. "Nunavut MLA missing for a week found alive on Baffin Island". CBC News. 2016-03-31. from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
2. "Pauloosie Keyootak elected MLA for Uqqummiut in byelection". CBC News, February 10, 2015.
3. "Hometown vote-split decides Nunavut byelection". Nunatsiaq News, February 10, 2015.
4. Legere, Jay (2016-03-28). "Nunavut MLA Pauloosie Keyootak among 3 missing on Baffin Island". CBC News. from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
5. Zerehi, Sima Sahar (2016-03-29). "Search continues for missing Nunavut MLA Pauloosie Keyootak and 2 others missing on Baffin Island". CBC News. from the original on 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
6. Ducharme, Steve (2016-03-29). "Air, ground search continues for missing Nunavut MLA". Nunatsiaq News. from the original on 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
7. Fraser, Sara (2016-03-29). "Maritime search and rescue exercise delayed by real emergencies". CBC News. from the original on 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2016-03-30.