'It was certainly different.'

That's how Jack Cable, 71, described waking up this morning and not heading into the commissioner's office.

Cable's last day of his five-year term as the Commissioner of the Yukon was on Friday.

Commissioner is a ceremonial position which mainly involves presiding over public functions and giving royal assent to territorial legislation, much like the lieutenant-governor posts in the Canadian provinces.

The former lawyer, turned Liberal MLA was sworn in as the territory's commissioner in October 2000.

Cable said he enjoyed his time in the office 'very much,' though adds he didn't have a very accurate perception of what the job would be like.

'I thought there would be less time that would otherwise be personal time involved,' he said.

It turned out the job is quite the opposite, placing more demands on his evenings and weekends than on the daily grind of office work. However, he has no regrets about taking up the position.

Cable said he enjoyed getting to meet new people and being introduced to new organizations in the territory was one of the most rewarding aspects of his job.

'Quite a few things that I did are things I'll remember. They were all interesting,' he said.

Cable enjoyed that he carried the expectation of promoting Canada and the interplay with aboriginal people. He also plans to continue to work with groups such as Skills Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion and veterans.

But right now he doesn't know what his future holds, though he knows that he isn't ready to define himself as 'retired' quite yet.

He will be 'putting his feet up' for a few months. He'll 'putter' around his hobby farm on the Takhini Hot Spring Road and do some jobs around home and in the community, but after that he's not quite sure what he'll be doing.

Born Ivan John (Jack) Cable in Hamilton, Ont., he received a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toronto. He later earned a masters in business administration and a bachelor of law prior to becoming a lawyer.

He came to the Yukon in 1970 and served as a lawyer for many years before becoming a member of the legislative assembly in 1992. He was the lone Liberal member until 1996, but choose not to run in the 2000 election when the party swept into power.

No one has yet been appointed to replace Cable. However, the legislature will continue to function and Premier Dennis Fentie will still be able to call a byelection in the riding of Copperbelt, where Haakon Arntzen resigned, without any problems should he decide to.

Until a new commissioner is put in office, Geraldine Van Bibber, administrator of the Yukon, will fulfill the commissioner's duties.

Patrick Michael, clerk of the legislative assembly, said it is not uncommon for the commissioner's office to be vacant for a period of months and it has happened before.

The position is conferred on an individual by prime ministerial appointment. The prime minister is advised by the premier and his federal cabinet on the appointment.

Campbell Morrison, press secretary for Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Andy Scott, said a list of several candidates has been received by the federal government and are being reviewed.

A decision will be made in the near future, he said, and there is the expectation a new commissioner should likely be in place by the end of October.

The terms of reference for the commissioner changed dramatically in October 1979 under the Conservative government of former prime minister Joe Clark.

During Clark's short-lived reign, Jake Epp, the minister responsible for the North, changed the role of commissioner from one of political influence to one of symbolism.

Like lieutenant-governors and the governor general, it is virtually unheard of for a commissioner to refuse the direction of an elected territorial government and not give a piece of legislation royal assent.

Prior to 1979, the commissioner in the Yukon was much like the right hand of the federal minister, with the authority to steer the territory's political direction.

But once party politics came to the legislature in 1978, there was a push to change the commissioner's role into a ceremonial position.