Nunavut MLA to make first appearance on assault charge

South Baffin MLA Fred Schell this past Sept. 30, when MLAs voted him into the Nunavut cabinet. On May 4, Schell will appear in court to face a charge of assault in an incident alleged to have occurred April 10 in Iqaluit. (FILE PHOTO)

South Baffin MLA Fred Schell, 59, will make his first appearance in court May 4 to face an assault charge that was laid April 12 by an Iqaluit RCMP constable.

The charging document, technically called an “information,” alleges that Schell assaulted Ezevallu Qatsiya on or about April 10 in Iqaluit.

His court appearance is set for 9:30 a.m. May 4 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit, a court employee said.

Schell, who represents Cape Dorset and Kimmirut in the assembly and serves in cabinet as minister without portfolio, would not comment on the matter when asked about it May 2 at the legislative assembly.

A spokesperson for Premier Eva Aariak would not comment either.

Schell did, however, say it is not affecting his job as MLA, or his business.

Schell is the owner of Polar Supplies Ltd., a contracting firm in Cape Dorset. His ownership of that firm now lies in a blind trust, which means he is not allowed to participate in the management of the business or acquire any knowledge of its affairs.

This past March 11, Aariak stripped him of all cabinet responsibilities, citing allegations that Schell has “acted in conflict of interest and abused his authority as minister.”

Nunavut Integrity Commissioner Norman Pickell is now looking into those allegations, but has yet to report back to the legislative assembly.

This past Oct. 20, Pickell found — in a report that responded to an earlier set of allegations made in June 2011 — that Schell contravened the Integrity Act in 2009 by sending a threatening email to a GN employee seeking a benefit for his business.

At the time, Schell had yet to put his business into a blind trust.