Former Westbank First Nation chief Robert Louie. This photo was taken in July 2015.
(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)
July 14, 2022 - 4:09 PM
Former Westbank First Nation chief Robert Louie is running again to fill the top spot vacated by the resignation of Christopher Derickson in June.
“It’s time that I ran again as chief for the Westbank First Nation,” Louie said in a news release issued today, July 14. “WFN needs leadership, unity and the members need prosperity. As the past chief of WFN for 24 years I have the experience, the knowledge and the drive to meet the challenges WFN has been facing to restore confidence within the membership and administration.”
Derickson resigned on June 17 over issues of “competency, integrity and moral courage within the WFN council and the departure of our principled CAO,” he said at the time. That issue was over the sale of land in Peachland in 2021.
READ MORE: Westbank First Nation chief resigns
Louie was chief from 2002 until 2016 when he lost by 34 votes to Roxanne Lindley.
READ MORE: Roxanne Lindley upsets Louie for Chief of Westbank First Nation
The defeat of Louie and most of council followed years of controversy that ended in lawsuits over WFN’s failed effort to build a private hospital called the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre.
READ MORE: Westbank First Nation counter-sues former private hospital partners
The election for chief and four councillors is scheduled for Sept. 15. That is the regularly scheduled election date and was not affected by Derickson’s resignation. He was elected chief in 2019, defeating Lindley.
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