KITCHENER — Regional Chair Karen Redman says Waterloo Region has much to celebrate, and also challenges to overcome to ensure all citizens enjoy its prosperity now and into the future.
“There is work to be done,” Redman said during a state of the region address hosted by two local Rotary clubs in Kitchener on Tuesday.
But she is confident the region is up to the task.
“We are a community that has a long track record of working together to make change happen,” she said. “We have a way of finding collective, innovative solutions — made in Waterloo Region solutions.”
Redman started her address by talking about growing up in Cambridge and playing by the Grand River, gathering bullrushes in the spring, swimming in the summer and tobogganing down the hill in the winter. As a child, she loved the river because it was full of life and new surprises.
Now she appreciates the river’s symbolism — connecting communities, carving its own path to the future, and always resilient.
“To me, this is the quintessential story of Waterloo Region,” she said.
Redman talked about the region’s investments in creating connections, including Ion light rail service, active transportation infrastructure, the future transit hub in downtown Kitchener and, hopefully with persistence, two-way, all-day GO service to Toronto.
The launch of Ion last June gave public transit a boost, but is also the keystone to a well-planned, well-connected community that will redefine growth for generations. The vision took great commitment from successive councils to see it materialize — one of only four similar systems in Canada.
“Make no mistake. Ion was no small feat,” Redman said.
