Good morning from the Region — three cities, one wire, zero time for small talk. Let's go.
Your new army rifles from Colt Canada are a big deal here
So, the federal government is fast-tracking a huge order of new rifles from Colt Canada, that's up in Kitchener, not Waterloo. We're talking 65,000 new C8 carbines and C7 rifles for the Canadian Armed Forces, with a $307 million initial contract. Now, you might think, 'great, local jobs, good for the economy,' and yes, that's part of it. But here's the thing about this region: we're not just about tech startups in the Tannery building or the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market. Kitchener has this deep industrial history, all those old warehouses DTK? That's our legacy. Colt Canada has been a quiet, steady employer, a solid piece of the manufacturing backbone that often gets overshadowed by the shiny new tech.
But let's be frank, the optics of speeding up military procurement in our pacifist-leaning, Mennonite-influenced community? It's a conversation. While it's undoubtedly a win for local manufacturing and the skilled trades that keep those lines running, you won't hear much cheering down at the Schwaben Club. It's not exactly the kind of thing that gets celebrated during Oktoberfest, which, to be clear, is about community and beer halls, not military hardware. This is a Region issue, not just a Kitchener one, impacting how we see ourselves — a hub of innovation *and* a place where precision manufacturing of… well, *that* kind of hardware, still happens. It's a complex balance, like trying to get the ION LRT to run on time through a construction zone.
Anja Baumann-Fong, MiTL Sports Desk, Kitchener-Waterloo.
My grandmother and her friends debate this over coffee every morning — catch the full chat at mornings.live.