Barrie mayor supports controversial idea to address homeless encampments

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall is ready to take action to address the issue of homeless encampments popping up in open areas, which is bound to come with some backlash.  

At an unrelated press conference on Monday, Premier Doug Ford nodded towards municipalities using a clause that once invoked, allows governments to pass legislation that can essentially override certain protections under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Why don’t we put in use the notwithstanding clause, or something like that?” the premier stated. "Let's see if they have the backbone to do it."

The comment caught the attention of Barrie's mayor.

“We have hit a critical mass here in terms of the number of encampments, the number of tents, the number of incidents, the number of fires, and the number of people who are feeling insecure inside of our public spaces that we need to, we need to be able to have movement,” Nuttall said.

Barrie, like many municipalities are dealing with encampments taking over public parks, but multiple Ontario courts have ruled against mass evictions, saying those individuals have rights.

Invoking the notwithstanding clause, or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, would prevent a court from stepping in. It has rarely been used.

Affordable Housing Plans

The City is taking other steps to tackle the housing shortage, including pouring upwards of $10 million into creating affordable housing.

A new staff memo revealed the funding invested in the new Housing Community Improvement Plan’s per-door grant program would be split between six developments, three for-profit and three not-for-profit.

“These are decisions that are not made by politicians, that aren't made by a council. These are made by an independent panel,” Nuttall said.

The grant is targeted to projects aimed at affordable housing and purpose-built rentals.

Around $6.7 million will be put towards helping to get a largely stalled development on Grove Street off the ground. The 271-unit, 25-storey purpose-built rental apartment building includes 32 affordable housing units.

“Finally, we’re going to be able to see what had been committed to a very long time ago come to fruition,” the mayor said.

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