A heavy contingent of the mayors from Waterloo region is in Ottawa on Wednesday to advocate for the area with federal ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The group met with Transportation Minister Marc Garneau and is also scheduled to meet with ministers or parliamentary secretaries of the following departments: Infrastructure and Communities; Innovation, Science and Economic Development; and Health, according to a spokesperson for the Region of Waterloo.
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“Our local MPs do a fantastic job of advocating for the area but sometimes there is a municipal lens missing for some of the discussion and we want to bring that to our elected officials in Ottawa,” said Paul Grivicic, chief of staff for Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
Vrbanovic is joined in Ottawa by Regional Chair Karen Redman, Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry, North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton, Waterloo mayor Dave Jaworsky and Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz.
After meeting with Garneau, Jaworsky posted a picture on Twitter and said they discussed a wide variety of transportation issues affecting the area including the LRT launch, Go Transit and the Waterloo Region Airport.
Grivicic said that when the local politicians will advocate for the growing tech sector as well as infrastructure funding.
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“We deal with a large portion of the infrastructure and we don’t have the funding to keep up with it,” he said. “Property taxes were not meant for that.”
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Vrbanovic’s chief of staff also told Global News that discussions with Health officials will delve into the opioid crisis and consumption sites to find ways they can help people.
This is the first advocacy mission for local politicians to Ottawa since 2016.
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