Peter Kent visited the University of Waterloo and, specifically, the Faculty of Environment on May 24, 2012. The Minister met with Waterloo's senior administration over lunch before visiting EV3 - a target LEED Platinum building funded in part by the Government's Knowledge Infrastructure Program - and learned about the innovative features from Professor Geoff Lewis who with other colleagues helped oversee the sustainability enhancements designed for the building. 

After the tour, the Minister heard presentations from faculty and graduate students from Environment that included rapid transit in Waterloo, international ecological restoration, winter road safety and re-creation of peat bogs in Alberta. The theme of these talks was that environmental stewardship and design need not be adversarial to economic development but can, in fact, position Canada as a global leader for balanced attention to environment and economy. 

Minister Kent also learned of initiatives associated with the Water Institute and the Waterloo Insitute for Sustainable Energy (WISE). To conclude the day, Jatin Nathwani, Executive Director at WISE, hosted him at the new Energy Research Centre, where Dr. Siva Sivoththaman provided lab tours and informed the Minister about sustainable energy research being conducted at the centre.

Minister Kent tours the CAPDS Lab.  
[L to R: Prof. Nathwani,  Minister Kent and Prof. Sivoththaman]

Minister Kent tours the CAPDS Lab. 
[L to R: Prof. Nathwani, Prof. Sivoththaman and Minister Kent ]

Minister Kent tours the new Environment 3 building.
[L to R: Prof. J. Nathwani, Prof. G. Lewis, Minister Kent and Dean A. Roy]

(Images taken by Light Imaging)