Kelly DeRidder on Advocacy for Kitchener Centre in the House of Commons

r members of the Conservative caucus showing their support. Here in Kitchener, we’re doing incredible work on affordable housing, and I’m excited to showcase these efforts to our team so we can continue to build momentum and support meaningful change. #cdnpoli #kitchener #AffordableHousing #community

small business community needs real support to thrive. I’m committed to being a strong voice for them in Parliament and working toward policies that empower innovation, reduce red tape, and ensure fair competition. Thank you to the CFIB for your continued advocacy and for bringing the voices of small business owners to the Hill. #cdnpoli #business #jobs #kitchener

to hosting you in Kitchener in the New Year! 🇨🇦🇱🇹 #kitchener #AI #innovation #canada #lithuania

, manufacture and capture the jobs and the wealth. From your experience, what are the biggest systematic barriers—like high taxes, inflationary pressures or slow approvals—that are pushing biotech commercialization and our talent to the U.S. instead of keeping it here in Canada?

d data through our research funding and tax credits in Canada?

in this country, because that's the economic growth out of all of our start-ups. What is this current government doing to ensure that we are retaining our intellectual property and data within our start-up ecosystem?

[email protected] #KitchenerCentre #TownHall

nity. The problem I see, though, is that we do a very good job of incubating and educating, but because of the current climate—high taxes and red tape—scaling-up isn't happening, so B and C funding isn't available to these start-ups. We're paying taxes to promote and incubate these companies, but then they're leaving Canada because it's easier to scale up in, say, the United States. What do you think would be a solution to that? How can we make more of an investment climate for scalability here in Canada so there isn't a negative net return on our investments, as things stand today?

is an issue that’s always been close to my heart, long before I became the MP for Kitchener Centre, and I'm very excited to be working further with them in my role. I’m grateful for the ongoing work they do to make home ownership a reality for more families, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate on building a more affordable future for everyone.

universities and your foundation to develop policy. You also gave $10 million to our Perimeter Institute, which helped it open. It is literally one of our driving forces of local innovation and tech in Kitchener. On top of that, you've supported our cancer centre at Grand River Hospital and our Waterloo Regional Children's Museum. You are the example of success when the IP stays in Canada. You can innovate, monetize and scale in the communities where this innovation is developed. What has changed or has not been done in the national landscape that causes companies to no longer be able to monetize and scale here, and what causes them to head south instead?

recommended building capacity for a knowledge-based, data-driven economy. Since then, almost three years later, not one policy has been created to meet the needs of a strategic orientation. On top of that, your warning of $100 billion lost annually from unowned IP really hits home. It hits home because Kitchener start-ups are directly impacted by red tape, high taxes, no IP strategy and a lack of policy, which is preventing investment. Where is this failure coming from? What can be done to fully unleash Kitchener's innovation engine and reverse the damage of this lost decade?

nerCentre #TownHall

pal and federal leaders work together, we create opportunities to improve the lives of people in Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Berry Vrbanovic , for taking the time to stop by and engage in such an important discussion. I look forward to continuing this partnership to build a stronger, more connected community.

mes from my home riding, being an innovative joint replacement technology, but they can't monetize. They're having trouble scaling because of red tape bureaucracies. It's hard to scale here in Canada. Also, there was an article that came out today from CTV that said, “Warren Lovely, managing director with National Bank Financial, told BNN Bloomberg...the private sector has already lost confidence in the federal government, and the country is dependent on the U.S.” Current policy, in the past 10 years, has not been in the form to create innovation and technology in Canada, and we've lost investor confidence in this country. This has been over the past 10 years. To me, these are policy and bureaucracy problems. You even said that it's not something to throw money at. It's how we create investment. In terms of policy, what can we do to create investment here in Canada and to support our innovation and technology sector?

and technology that benefit Kitchener Centre and across Canada — always putting Canadians first.

AI investment, but 75% of that has now gone abroad to companies not here in Canada, so our public tax dollars are funding, as you said, the futures of someone else. What specific competition-focused policies could reverse Liberal oversight, incentivize private investment and prevent IP leakage to ensure that our youth who are driving our innovation as well as our next workforce have a bright future here in Canada?

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hospital. You're very community-focused, and you're right in my community in Kitchener, so I have some community questions for you. What has this drug crisis in Kitchener contributed to the spread in the transmission of AROs in our community?

de rehabilitation progress in parole decisions Bill C-240 is a non-partisan bill that will help Canadians get the help they need while at the same time, go after fentanyl kingpins who destroy our communities.

nders are released, only to harm again. You deserve better. You deserve safety, dignity, and peace of mind in your own community. Today, as we vote on our motion in the House of Commons, I ask others in this house to listen. This is not about politics. This is about people. About families. About the right to live without fear. Conservatives hear you. We stand with you. And we will fight to get this done, for the sake of every neighbour, every child, and every small business trying to survive and thrive in Kitchener Centre and across Canada. Let’s make our communities safer. Let’s pass this motion—together.

ad to food insecurity as well. We do know that the homeless population is more at risk for infectious disease. That includes those who are struggling with addiction. In my riding in Kitchener, I was driving by one of our encampments over the summer. Someone had passed in the encampment. I was deeply saddened by their passing, but I was even more saddened by the fact that those cleaning up his area were dressed in full haz-mat. In another story from my riding, a lady lost her son because he injected with water from our Grand River. He got an infectious disease straight from our river when he injected with that water. We've lost 53,000 people to this opioid crisis that we're facing right now. That's more people than we lost in World War II. It just seems that these failed social experiment policies are leading to more deaths in our country. I have two questions: How is this drug crisis today contributing to the infectious disease increase in Canada, and do you have any data on the actual AMR deaths contributing to what we're facing in Canada today?