Ahead of backtracking on unpopular changes to the city’s parks use and nuisance bylaws, Barrie councillors continued to defend their planned measures on chronic homelessness and enhanced public safety Wednesday night.
City council sent amendments to these bylaws back to staff after addressing a packed Council Chambers, where many carried signs criticizing perceived limits in feeding the hungry in public places.
“The intent of the original motion was not to deter kindness,” said Coun. Bryn Hamilton. “I’m reading signs here ‘don’t criminalize kindness’ and again that’s not what the intent of the motion is.”
“I don’t think anybody … at council ever meant any ill intent,” said Coun. Amy Courser.
“We’ve heard you, we understand you and we agree with you,” Coun. Jim Harris said to the crowd. “We’re going to have a lunch program, we’re going to have a cooling/warming centre that is able to keep people safe from the elements, which is really important.”
Later during last night's meeting, when most of the audience had left, council passed a direct motion that city staff investigate the feasibility of using 29 Sperling Dr., the former Barrie police station, as a warming and cooling centre, and food distribution centre.
“I wish the crowd had stayed for this,” said Coun. Sergio Morales. “It’s easy to slice and dice what you want to see, it’s easy to … get the win and then leave, but it’s the follow-up that matters. It’s the delivery and this motion definitely gets us closer to that.
“It’s a city-owned facility, it’s large, we’ve run medical vaccinations out of it and it’s right beside the (Simcoe Muskoka District) Health Unit," he added.
On May 17, city council unanimously approved a direct motion addressing chronic homelessness and public safety which also included measures dealing with drug addiction, mental health problems, shelter, counselling, limiting camping in city parks, feeding the hungry in public places, and a panhandling ban.
Some of these measures were to become changes to Barrie’s parks use and nuisance bylaws, but council sent them back to staff Wednesday to clarify and update the language.
Current bylaws prohibit individuals or corporations, for example, from distributing food and supplies on city property, but they do allow charitable organizations to do so. The change was to extend the prohibition to all organizations.
People are also not permitted to set up camp or to sleep overnight on city property under Barrie’s existing bylaws.
The changes were to be made by amending these two bylaws.
One said a person shall not provide, at no charge, food, clothing, tents, tarps or items used as shelter or to assist with sleeping or protection from the elements to members of the public from any public park unless authorized to do so by the city.
The second said no person shall give away food, clothing, tents, tarps or other shelter to assist with sleeping or protection from the elements to members of the public from any city property, unless authorized by the city. This also applied to Barrie’s waterfront parks and dog-off-leash parks, along with Memorial Square and Meridian Place.
Fines can range from less than $500 to $100,000, or $10,000 a day for continuous offences for individuals and corporations, and total fines for multiple or continuous offences are not limited to $100,000.
“There was never an intent … that we would ever criminalize the kind individual efforts of people,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson.
“There’s no interest in stopping people from being kind, for giving away a bottle of water on a hot day, a coffee on a cold winter evening,” said Harris.
Mayor Alex Nuttall said enforcement will not be an issue.
“The existing bylaw that says you can’t provide those types of helps in public spaces, our staff are not going to be trying to implement or enforce any of that between now and the date of the actual wording changes, “ he said, “so there should be zero fear out there that a bylaw officer or a peace (police) officer is going to come and ask you not to give water to somebody who needs it.”
The Busby Centre agreeing to stop handing out food and supplies along Barrie’s waterfront at the Spirit Catcher parking lot, and instead move these outreach services to another downtown city parking lot by Monday, allowed council to refer the bylaw changes back to staff.
But councillors want to move ahead with other measures to deal with homelessness and public safety, including a warming and cooling centre, and food distribution centre.
The former Sperling Drive police station, Thomson said, is the only viable option now but there are some challenges there.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is leasing space there and wants to continue using the facility until the end of the year, according to city staff.
The building is structurally sound, but designed as a police station, and the location isn’t ideal.
But council agreed unanimously to investigate its feasibility.
“We’ve got to do something,” said Coun. Gary Harvey. “If you don’t shoot, you don’t score.”
A public meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 19, at community safety committee’s meeting, on chronic homelessness, addiction and mental health supports in Barrie.
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