Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be a big fan of Waterloo Region.
In January, he toured a number of tech and innovation hotspots during his first visit to the area since becoming prime minister – including the University of Waterloo, BlackBerry, and the new office of Google Canada.
One week later, he was talking about the university and the region at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
More recently, Finance Minister Bill Morneau singled out the region as being home to “some of the most brilliant, innovative minds and companies in the world” during his speech announcing the federal budget.
Given all that praise, one might wonder what concrete actions the federal government is taking to support and enhance the region’s economy.
CTV Kitchener’s Meghan Furman posed that question to Trudeau on Friday, during an interview set up as part of his visit to the region.
Use the video player above to watch the full interview, which also touches on topics including the federal budget deficit, youth employment and marijuana legalization.
The prime minister responded by pointing to a number of initiatives contained in the budget, including $2 billion in funding for research institutions, and measures to improve access to post-secondary education.
He also talked about planned spending on transit infrastructure, noting that it was a common topic of discussion on his last visit to the area.
“One of the things I heard is a real need for bricks-and-mortar transit, and better connections to Toronto,” he said.
Transit funding will be provided based on needs communicated by local authorities and experts, Trudeau said.
“The federal government isn’t the one who should be drawing lines on a map or telling the KW region ‘OK, this is what you guys need,’” he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with CTV Kitchener's Meghan Furman on Friday, April 15, 2016.
Trudeau has spent time this week defending his decision to stick with an arms deal involving Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International has been among those criticizing the $15-billion deal, which involves London-made light armoured vehicles being sold to the Saudis.
Among the concerns voiced are that Canadian armour previously sold to the Saudis may have been used during military action in Yemen, and that the vehicles could be used against the Saudi people.
Critics have questioned why, given these concerns, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion signed the export permits for the deal.
Pressed about the issue Friday, Trudeau said that the contract for the sale was signed by the previous Conservative government and that going back on the deal would have negative repercussions for Canada’s standing on the world stage.
“You can’t cancel a contract that was properly signed by a government that was duly elected, even if you disagree with it,” he said.
Asked whether he personally felt good about the deal in a moral sense, Trudeau acknowledged that “obviously there are concerns about human rights,” then reiterated that his opinions were not the key to the issue.
“My personal feelings are not what people elected me for. They elected me to be a clear, responsible leader of this country,” he said.
The conversation then turned to refugees, with the prime minister stressing that bringing 25,000 Syrians into Canada was only the first step for the government as far as resettling them.
“This was never about a short-term initiative,” he said.
“This was always about building opportunities for these new Canadians over the next five years, over the next 10 years as they integrate and contribute to our communities and our country.”
Trudeau’s visit to Waterloo Region also included the formal announcement of $50 million in funding over five years for Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute, which was first mentioned in March’s budget.
Asked jokingly by a reporter to explain quantum computing, the prime minister then decided to do just that.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes an announcement at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo on Friday, April 15, 2016. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press)
He then moved on to Cambridge for a tour of Canadian General-Tower, which produces fabrics and films for use in vehicles, swimming pool liners and other items.
