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Baker Lake mayor yet to step down

The mayor of Baker Lake is facing pressure to resign after he was charged with assault following a domestic disturbance last month.
Shawn Attungala, 44, was arrested and charged with one count of assault on Sept. 8, according to the RCMP.
He is scheduled to appear in Nunavut territorial court in Baker Lake on Dec. 4.
Attungala has still not indicated whether he will resign after hamlet councillors passed a a motion to remove the mayor at a special council meeting on Sept. 27.
The non-confidence motion passed with six votes in favour, one abstention and one absent councillor.
Five votes are required to pass a motion.
Attungala was elected mayor in December 2017.
Although the non-confidence vote was passed by hamlet council, Attungala is under no legal obligation to step down.
The mayor was absent from a regular council meeting on Oct. 4.
Deputy mayor Karen Yip said Attungala had not officially informed the hamlet of his intentions.
Yip declined to comment further on the matter, preferring to let the legal proceedings play themselves out.
"In Canada, section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states – 'Any person charged with an offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal,'" wrote Yip in an email to Kivalliq News regarding the matter.
"Council members followed the processes they felt necessary to request the mayor to resign and, again, this motion was non-binding.
There is a process in the Local Authorities Elections Act outlining when and how elected officials, including the mayor, can be removed from office.
"It is my understanding that the municipal council has adhered to this legislation and it is entirely up to the mayor to make a decision on if he will resign or if he will stay for the balance of the mayor's term," said Yip.
Baker Lake's hamlet council is scheduled to meet again on Oct. 18.
Attungala could not be reached for comment by Kivalliq News before press time.