Iqaluit (Mar 10/03) - "I could not stay silent," said Rankin North MLA Jack Anawak, Friday.

That vocal attitude cost him a cabinet position when Nunavut legislative assembly voted 11 to six to have him removed.

Prior to being voted out of cabinet Anawak slammed the Government of Nunavut for not adhering to the vision statement set forth by the people of Nunavut.

"I became increasingly concerned that the people's hopes and expectations were not being mirrored in our policies and procedures," said Anawak.

During a nearly three-hour debate on the motion to remove Anawak from cabinet, he delivered a passionate speech on his duties as an elected official.

He said he could not sit by and watch the government continue to be, as he perceived, complacent.

Anawak said he was tired of seeing Inuit values lost in a government that was supposed to combine the best of contemporary and traditional Inuit values.

Many of Anawak's supporters cited the loss of Inuit tradition and values in a foreign government structure as a great concern.

Among those who were opposed to the motion was cabinet minister Manitok Thompson.

"I cannot and will not morally, or ethically, vote against my colleague Mr. Anawak," she said.

Thompson said she stands united with cabinet, but did not believe Anawak's actions were deserving of the punishment.

Premier Paul Okalik said the government has to stand united and there are procedures that must be followed.

"If we keep going back to the old days we are not going to go forward and evolve as we should as a government," he said.