NAN Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit speech

I’m very happy obviously that I’m reelected, that the chiefs have confidence in getting me back in to work on the issues I’ve worked on based on the mandates they had given us the first term.
I think we made some progress towards establishing a vehicle, an entity that will address the housing and infrastructure issue and the capital needs of our communities. As you know, we’re close to a 5,000 home backlog across NAN, and then there’s the associated infrastructure such as water, sewage, roads and hydro to support those facilities that will be required.
On another front, I have a passion for economic resource development.
I’d like to begin to work on laying down a foundation for establishing a NAN economy, a NAN First Nations economy in the NAN territory based on the resource extraction that happens in our territory.
Again on economic development, we’re looking forward to working with NAN First Nation entrepreneurs and corporations, regional entities and regional business, I’m hoping we can put together a NAN business summit.
Solely focused on NAN business people, bringing them together so that they can network amongst each other, whether it be an owner of a convenience store or whether it’s a major entity like Wasaya.
Also looking at bringing them together with private sector and financing and all that kind of stuff.
That’s one of the things we had discussed internally here before the election that we would try and organize.