Paul MacDonald resigned from Inuvik town council during a not-so regular meeting Wednesday.
MacDonald was also deputy mayor. He runs a booming medical supply business and said he just doesn't have time for council.
"It has been an honour to represent the citizens of Inuvik and I have given this decision serious consideration," he said.
He quit during an unusual meeting during which two other councillors were reprimanded for publicly criticizing resolutions passed by council.
Couns. Ray Solotki and Dez Loreen were singled out during a "Council Code of Conduct review" for making comments to Inuvik Drum in separate instances. Solotki and MacDonald were critical of the recent decision to scrap committee meetings.
Loreen went after the town's soon-to-be-built Gateway Sign in launching his campaign for mayor at the end of a charity comedy night on the weekend. The project came under fire last summer because there were no Beaufort Delta artists involved.
'That news writing was very, very insulting'
"We went through this a year ago, we had a big meeting about it," said Coun. Kurt Wainman. "I'm really shocked to see this kind of stuff show up in the paper. We all made commitments to communicate and work together.
"That news writing was very, very insulting to council and the community."
Wainman, along with Couns. Clarence Wood and Alana Mero, also chided the remaining councillors for publicly criticizing town administration.
Mayor Natasha Kulikowski said she brought up the issue because she received complaints that council's code of conduct had been violated.
"The dignity, understanding and respect for each other in the decisions that we make around the table are the foundation of the trust and respect held by our residents that we serve," said Kulikowski.
While council had the option of opening an investigation into the conduct to determine if the reported breaches of council conduct had occurred, councillors agreed that a public verbal castigation was sufficient. Kulikowski said she would consult with Municipal and Community Affairs to see what other jurisdictions have done with similar incidents.
Saying he "always hates doing this," Wood said council needed to speak as a single entity.
"It's not right," said Wood. "What it shows is a complete disrespect for council."
Both Wood and Wainman went on to say that they did not have a problem with Loreen's comment, with Wainman calling it "off the cuff" and Wood saying he was sure "the public didn't have much problem with it either."
Saying she saw no difference between either breach, Coun. Alana Mero said both remaining councillors should publicly apologize for the breach and both should be verbally reprimanded. Couns. Wood and Coun. Kurt Wainman agreed.
Couns. Steve Baryluk and Ray Solotki were absent for the meeting, and Coun. Dez Loreen apologized to council.
"I understand. I understand fully," said Loreen. "I was talking to the media about my future plans and he asked me. I commented on something that I shouldn't have commented on and I apologize for that to council, because I definitely do respect the decisions made here.
"I take this seriously and I will be better. So again I apologize to everybody."