Nunavut MP Tootoo returns to work after short leave

Nunavut MP is back to work this week after a seven-week leave, his office announced July 25. He’ll be back in Iqaluit July 27 to meet with constituents. (FILE PHOTO)

Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo is back to work this week following a leave of seven weeks, his office announced July 25.

And constituents can expect to see him soon: Tootoo will be back in Iqaluit July 27 to host a three-hour open house at his local office.

“After completing my treatment for alcohol addiction, I wish to invite my constituents to an open house where I will be available to address their concerns as I resume my duties as their Member of Parliament,” Tootoo said in a short release put out by his office July 25.

His constituency office is located at the Four Corners inside the Igluvut building, known informally as the Royal Bank building.

As part of the event, Tootoo will host a news conference July 27 at 11 a.m., followed by the open house, which runs until 2 p.m.

“Good to be home,” Tootoo tweeted July 25, suggesting the MP is already back in Iqaluit.

Tootoo, elected in October 2015 as Nunavut MP with 47 per cent of the vote, shocked constituents and Canadians alike May 31 when he resigned as minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and from the Liberal caucus to seek help with an addiction.

Unconfirmed media reports said Tootoo enrolled in a 45-day treatment program at a southern Ontario rehabilitation centre.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government have remained tight-lipped about Tootoo’s departure, and have yet to indicate if the MP will be welcomed back into the Liberal caucus on his return.

During his absence, Tootoo’s staff continued to work from his parliamentary office in Ottawa, although the MP’s constituency office in Iqaluit had yet to open.

MPs do not return to sit in the House of Commons until Sept.19.