Vulnerable group camping in Barrie park in limbo as City’s eviction deadline passes

Tensions remain high on Friday at a park in Barrie after the City issued a three-day eviction to a group of people using the area as a campground earlier this week.

Unsure of what's to come, roughly two dozen homeless people sit in limbo as the deadline for their impending eviction from Berczy Park has now passed.

On Tuesday, bylaw officers handed out eviction notices in an aggressive and controversial step to tackle encampments.

City of Barrie crews arrived at the park on Friday to clean up some of the garbage, and a Barrie Fire pumper truck arrived, but after encountering some people at the entrance to the park, firefighters left without entering.

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The eviction has left many questioning where they are supposed to go next.

Mayor Alex Nuttall told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday, "Parks are places where our kids are playing, where our seniors are walking, and families are hanging out, and they are not campgrounds. They need to be clean, free of needles and paraphernalia that pose a risk to young people."

The Busby Centre, in support of the County of Simcoe, plans to add 20 shelter beds to help those displaced, but Jeff Schlemmer, the executive director of the Community Legal Clinic Of York Region, said shelter beds aren't always the answer.

"The issue is, is it accessible to the individual? If the person has a pet, do they allow pets? If they have partners, do they allow partners? Do they have locked lockers? If they have an addiction, can they accommodate that?" he said in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday.

CTV News reached out to the City of Barrie for clarification about the three-day eviction notice, and received a statement from Dawn McAlpine, the general manager of community and corporate services, noting, "The City continues to work with the County of Simcoe as the lead on housing and homelessness in Barrie. The information that the County provides on the status of the individuals and their housing offers will inform next steps."

Questions about when the evictions would happen and whether additional supports recommended would be in place for the vulnerable went unanswered.

In an email to CTV News, the County stated that it works closely with municipalities and service providers to help those in need. The statement added that the County does not have the authority to dismantle encampments or enforce municipal bylaws.

"Our role is to provide the service providers with funding to work towards ending peoples' experience with homelessness. This approach is similar to the efforts the County has provided to other communities in Simcoe County as they addressed local encampments," stated Mina Fayez-Bahgat, general manager of social and community services for the County of Simcoe.

With files from CTV's Justin Rydell