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Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall is not yet denying a published story that says he will use his ’strong mayor’ powers to dismantle the city's homeless camps in the wake of a stabbing at Sunnidale Park earlier this week.
Nuttall was reached late this afternoon by BarrieToday for a 27-second interview. After first saying he wasn’t giving interviews and that he was out of the office for the next two days, he was asked about the story.
“Ah, it (the story) never said I said anything … you know that,” Nuttall said. “It never said that I said anything.”
Nuttall is not quoted in the QP Briefing story, which was published Thursday morning. The news outlet covers provincial politics at Queen's Park.
BarrieToday asked Nuttall if he was denying the story was true, and the line went dead.
The QP Briefing story says Nuttall is considering using his strong mayor powers to direct municipal administrators to bring down as many as 20 encampments in the community, according to sources at city hall. Those sources are not identified.
The same QP Briefing story also says unnamed sources say Nuttall would act by issuing an order to Barrie’s chief administrative officer to direct the CAO to tell municipal bylaw staff to proceed with dismantling the encampments, as well as starting work with Simcoe County on developing transitional housing for the occupants of these sites.
Nuttall used his strong mayor powers last week, directing city staff to pause further work on council’s decision to go ahead with a controversial sports field and parade ground near Barrie’s waterfront. This would allow public consultation to take place and be presented to council later this fall. Nuttall took this action using a strong mayor powers directive, from Ontario’s Municipal Act.
QP Briefing says Nuttall’s move to dismantle the homeless camps is being considered after a teenager was stabbed in Sunnidale Park.
On Aug. 20 at 5:17 p.m., Barrie police responded to a stabbing which had taken place on a walking path near the dog off-leash area, just off Coulter Street.
The teenager was taken to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie and later transported to a Toronto hospital for further treatment of what police called a non-life-threatening injury.
Police say they are trying to locate a suspect who is described as a white male, between 30 and 35 years old, standing five-foot-six to five-foot-nine with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair. He was wearing a baseball hat, white collared button-up shirt and a brown suit vest.
Police have said the incident is believed to be "isolated and unprovoked."
It's not clear if the suspect lived in the Sunnidale Park homeless encampment, says the QP Briefing story
After the stabbing, Nuttall issued a statement on social media: “I want everyone to know, that when we find out all of the facts, all options are on the table when it comes to keeping our community safe."
“We are committed to taking every necessary step to prevent such tragedies in the future,” he added.
In May, the city said it was not proceeding with evictions in its Barrie encampments, but municipal law enforcement staff were advising individuals when their actions or behaviours are contrary to municipal bylaws.
Last year, an Ontario Superior Court ruling deemed bylaws prohibiting homeless
The QP Briefing story also said unnamed city hall sources say Nuttall is using the strong mayor powers because Barrie city council isn't meeting during the summer and action is needed urgently to bring down the encampments.
City council met last week, however, on Aug. 14.
QP Briefing has ties to iPolitics, a news website that earlier this year asked for the City of Barrie’s help in launching a community news outlet, to be called Barrie Compass, which would include a print newsletter.
