Iqaluit (Oct 27/03) - Paul Quassa, former Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) president, was arrested for drunk driving in Iqaluit in the early hours of Oct. 17.

He was charged with one count of impaired operation of a vehicle and one count of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Quassa was a central figure in the negotiation and implementation of Nunavut's land claim from the 1970s until his resignation in 2001.

He resigned as president of NTI three times, the third time in July 2001 after he was accused of mishandling funds.

He stepped down in 1992, facing a sexual assault charge, and again in 1993, when charged with child abandonment and resisting arrest. He was convicted on all three counts.

Quassa will appear in Iqaluit territorial court Nov. 21 to answer to this latest charge.