NUNAVUT
More than one month after Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo's resignation from both cabinet and the Liberal caucus May 31, Nunavummiut are rightly wondering about their representation in Ottawa.

Asked if there were plans for Tootoo moving forward after addictions treatment, Cameron Ahmad, the press secretary for the Prime Minister's Office, would only refer Nunavut News/North to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's original statement saying Tootoo resigned from cabinet and caucus and is getting addictions treatment.

Support for Tootoo is legion - from Premier Peter Taptuna in the Nunavut legislative assembly, from his family, from Nunavummiut and Canadians leaving comments on news sites and social media.

But what happens to Tootoo politically once he leaves treatment - reported by the Hill Times as a 45-day in-patient program at a centre north of Toronto - is an open question.

Having resigned from Liberal caucus, Tootoo is now an independent MP.

"This was his own choice after a very difficult situation and we'll have nothing further to say on the matter," Trudeau said the day after Tootoo's resignation.

Joe Jordan is a former Liberal MP and is currently a senior associate at Bluesky Strategy Group Inc. in Ottawa. Jordan served as parliamentary secretary to prime minister Jean Chretien between 2000 and 2003 and as parliamentary secretary to the president of the Treasury Board in 2003 and 2004. His father was the MP for his district for nine years before him.

On his own time, he counsels new and defeated MPs.

Asked if it's possible Tootoo might return to caucus, or even cabinet, Jordan says, "A lot depends on the conversation he would have had with the PM, but he was chosen for a number of reasons. Those reasons haven't changed. I think he brings a unique perspective. I think the challenges of representing the North are as big and different as other regions - so his voice is always going to be extremely useful."

Regarding Tootoo's resignation from caucus, Jordan says, "That was certainly not a decision that caucus made. That's a decision that was made between he and the prime minister. I would think he needed to get out from under caucus responsibilities, as well as ministerial responsibilities, and devote himself full time to getting healthy. I didn't read anything into that other than that. I think he needed to devote himself 100 per cent to rehab. But he certainly wasn't kicked out of caucus."

Alice Funke is a political analyst and publisher of punditsguide.ca. She has a different take.

"The PMO or leader's office would almost certainly dictate how things would go in such situations. There is an expression that often gets used in these situations: so-and-so 'got quit,'" she stated in an e-mail to Nunavut News/North.

But Funke does not outright discount the possibility Tootoo could return to caucus.

"On the other hand, they have denied that there was any event at the Winnipeg convention that led to his removal from caucus, so we have to factor that in as well. We probably will never know what happened. If he has healed, and sufficient time has passed, then perhaps he could return to caucus," said Funk.

Jordan's work with new and defeated MPs is "close to his heart."

"When I was defeated I thought we could do a better job of how we deal with defeated MPs who are kicked to the curb. That got me into the real solution - dealing with things at the front end as opposed to the back end," he said.

"I've done new MP orientation sessions and defeated MP counselling sessions, and this is all as a volunteer. I do it because I think it needs doing."

Jordan says the reality is new MPs are thrown into the deep end of the pool.

"People make a lot of assumptions. One of the assumptions that is made is that the person knows what their job is. The orientation sessions, a lot of times, deal with logistical things - what's the bus route in Ottawa. When really what they should be getting is a little bit more detailed information on what is your job and how you go about doing your job."

Jordan adds the job can consume you, with thousands of people a day making demands.

"And if you don't have a way to triage that stuff, sooner or later it will just wear you right down. It's a whole bunch of things that MPs, for the most part, have to figure out on their own. Or ask somebody else."

But Jordan points out that new MPs will rarely ask for help.

"The other thing that complicates it is there's a lot of Type A personalities that are attracted to the job and they are not the kind of people that are going to say they don't know something, or seek advice from someone else," he said.

"It's the perfect storm for having a lot of stress. Especially in your first couple of years until you sort this stuff out.

"A cabinet post would multiply that by 10."

Jordan also notes there was some delay in staffing up minister's offices.

"There was a tough stretch there where people would have literally been flying by the seat of their pants, especially people new to the job."

Along with the stress comes the availability of alcohol - so much so that Parliament Hill has its own chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous that, according to Funke, many MPs and journalists attend.

Jordan, despite not knowing Tootoo personally, offers his unmitigated support. "Somebody that has an addictions problem ... the alcohol is literally flowing in the streets around here. It's everywhere. Availability, and then you add the stress that addicts can use to rationalize ... It was a very, very tough situation."

He adds, "If you're not fairly secure in a lot of things and you come here as an MP, it's going to expose weak points. And there's a lot of people prepared to enable that exposure."

Jordan says this moment in Tootoo's life is unlikely to "hurt him in terms of his ability to do the job."

Kathy Pinksen, who was Tootoo's senior assistant at his Department of Fisheries and Ocean's office, told Nunavut News/North July 4 that his release date is undetermined.

Annie Aningmiuq, a member of Tootoo's Ottawa constituency staff, travelled to Iqaluit last week to work on staffing that office and getting it ready to open.

"We are in the process of finalizing staffing and we expect to have the local MP's office fully functional in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, constituents should contact the Ottawa office," she told Nunavut News/North.

Michel Potvin, chief executive officer for the Nunavut Federal Liberal Association, did not respond to a request for an interview.

Jordan stresses that an addiction is not a character flaw.

"It's a disease. You see it through that lens, I applaud the man's courage to publicly announce and get help. Now, it remains to be seen how the story ends. But it's not a negative at this point. I want to wish the gentleman all the best. I think he can come back and be a much, much more powerful advocate."

The House of Commons is scheduled to sit again Sept. 19.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.