High profile visit sparks war of words
Posted Nov 9, 2010 05:35:33 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A campaign-style battle has broken out in Kitchener-Waterloo even though there’s no election in our immediate future.
During a visit to the riding last night, former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin and former Kitchener-Waterloo MP Andrew Telegdi took turns slamming the Tories.
“Clearly, as the member of parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, I must be doing something right when a former Liberal prime minister needs to swoop into the riding and attack me,” declared MP Peter Braid, when reached by phone earlier today.
Braid calls the attack “sabre rattling” on the part of the Opposition and maintains that the federal Conservatives are not interested in an election but rather will continue to focus on economic recovery.
Among the issues raised by Telegdi and Martin last night was the future of Research in Motion, what Telegdi called the “Achilles’ Heel” of our region. He believes the federal government must move to protect the intellectual property of companies like RIM.
Braid bristles at the notion his government is not doing enough.
“RIM is our greatest high tech and corporate champion in this country,” Braid said during his interview with 570 News. “This government has — and will always — strongly support the important role that RIM plays as a champion of Canadian success and innovation.”
Braid points to what he calls an “unprecedented” amount of investment in science and technology, to the tune of $11.7-billion. This, he says, after the former Liberal government slashed spending in that same area by more than $440-million.
And the investment, according to Braid, is clearly visible in the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo.
“The Institute for Quantum Computing, the Perimeter Institute (and) ongoing investments there, investments in scholarships and research chairs,” Braid begins. “A new building for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, the new Balsillie Campus here in uptown Waterloo. The list goes on and on.”
Braid says his role as a member of the Industry, Science and Technology Committee in Ottawa provides him the opportunity to champion Waterloo Region as a centre of innovation.
