Conservative Leader makes campaign-style stop in Waterloo
Posted Aug 11, 2021 05:08:14 PM.
Waterloo Region was the latest stop for federal Conservative leader Erin O'Toole this week.
Magnet Forensics in Waterloo provided the backdrop for a campaign-style visit, where O'Toole touted the Conservative's plan to support businesses and innovation.
He called Waterloo Region an epicentre for innovation, and that Canada needs to be better at providing support so “our best and brightest” don't end up leaving for other countries because of barriers and better opportunities.
“We want more Shopifys, we want more Magnets,” he said, “We want to partner with Communitech and other hubs of innovation, to allow them to keep profits from their patents, to hire more people, to invest, to grow.”
Under a Conservative government, O'Toole said they would do a number of things, including the establishment of the Canadian Advanced Research Agency.
That would include an initial investment of $5 billion over five years to develop cutting-edge technology, from developing electric vehicles, pharmaceutical research, private sector innovation in the space sector and more.
They would also look at making it easier to finance and scale up startups, and allowing small and medium sized businesses access to up to $10,000 to cover administrative and legal costs for each of the first five patents.
