Enthusiastic crowd welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Belleville

By Alana Pickrell 

BELLEVILLE – Cheers filled a packed Empire Theatre Thursday evening as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the stage to hear concerns and comments from community members of all ages.

According to Trudeau, one of the most important things for him as a prime minster is “staying connected to the people you are elected to serve.”

The questions in the town-hall event, which was one of his stops on his cross-country tour, were on topics including agriculture, immigration, the environment, mental-health services for youth and relations with a Donald Trump-led United States. They came from a wide range of age groups and ethnicities.

“The government needs to support agriculture through good times and bad,” said Trudeau, adding that his Liberal party will not take farmers’ votes or rural areas for granted.

Several times throughout the evening people in the audience stood up to share personal experiences and ask Trudeau about the issues that matter to them.

The entire crowd went silent waiting for his response when a young woman asked how he plans to better support young people suffering from mental illness.

“We need to do a much better job,” Trudeau replied, “specifically with our young people and helping them with mental illness. Addressing the issue is extremely important for themselves and their families.”

In a reference to the struggles that his mother, Margaret Trudeau, has publicly spoken of, and her work for the cause, he added: “If I wasn’t an advocate for mental health, I wouldn’t be my mother’s son. And I like being my mother’s son.”

Trudeau arrived on stage at about 6:20 p.m., a little later than scheduled, and answered questions for a little over an hour. His next stop was Canadian Forces Base Trenton, where he was to inspect an honour guard and stay overnight.

Trudeau told the audience that as soon as he was elected he lowered taxes on the middle class to try to decrease Canada’s poverty rate and help small businesses.

“Helping small businesses is at the heart of why we got elected,” he said.

One of those who attended the event was Rory Facette-Grondin. He said Trudeau is the reason he was able to start his own business.

His entire family went to the Empire Theatre hoping to “personally thank him for increasing the money that families with children get,” Facette-Grondin said.

With many families in the area closely connected to the military, it probably wasn’t a surprise that a question on support of veterans was raised.

“If we’re going to send our young men and women into harm’s way, we need to do right by them when they come home,” Trudeau said.

He plans on upholding the promises his government has made to veterans and veterans’ groups. He is, he said, “committed to getting that done.”