Barrie Council tackles budget, encampments, and U.S. tariffs in last meeting

Barrie’s City Council latest meeting counted with budget approvals, deputations, and discussions surrounding homelessness and public space enforcement taking centre stage.

Mayor Alex Nuttall presented the 2025 Business Plan and Budget – Service Partners, in accordance with Ontario’s Strong Mayor powers. Key approvals included:

“This is my 11th budget, and it is by far the one that provided more opportunity than ever befor,” Mayor Nuttall said.

The council also addressed homeless encampments, referencing recent Ontario Superior Court rulings that restrict evictions without adequate shelter options.

While the City of Barrie has sought stronger enforcement powers, Premier Doug Ford’s decision to dissolve the legislature effectively shelves the Safer Municipalities Act, the bill which aimed to grant municipalities expanded authority over public encampments and public drug use.

Several deputations, including from Michael Speers, Kaitlin Baldwin, Daisy Oliveros, and Ash Pineau, raised concerns over homelessness policy, highlighting the ongoing legal and social challenges.

City Clerk Wendy Cooke said that the city so far has received over $3 million for the encampment initiative. “What that money is going to be used for is providing shelters as some shelter space for a removal of like to assist with housing people that are currently in encampments as well as the remediation cost for some of the park’s cleanups that will be required,” she said.

Ward 4 Councillor Amy Courser asked if people who are camping in Barrie parks right now would be removed even if there’s no capacity for them in shelter.

Mayor Alex Nuttall responded that “it is not the plan to go in and remove ahead of having the capacity for these people in shelters.” The city is working right now on finding this capacity using the funding received and also reviewing the Barrie’s land expansion issue.

As the threat of new U.S. tariffs looms over Canadian industries, the City of Barrie is calling for federal and provincial action.

Mayor Nuttall put forward a motion urging the federal government to take proactive steps in upcoming trade negotiations to protect Ontario’s economy, particularly the auto sector, unions, and agricultural industries that could be directly affected.

Nuttall said that according to data from AMO, municipalities in the province are expected to invest between $250 billion and $290 billion in infrastructure over the next decade.

But some current trade agreements prevent cities from prioritizing Canadian suppliers, limiting their ability to shield local economies from the effects of international trade disputes. The mayor’s resolution calls on the federal government’s newly established Canada-U.S. Relations Council to take “any and all measures” to safeguard Ontario’s economic interests.

A key element of Barrie’s response, Nuttall explained, would be the ability to impose restrictions on American companies bidding for municipal contracts if tariffs are enacted.

“The City of Barrie calls upon our federal and provincial governments to allow us to create discounts on American companies that are looking to answer our procurement,” he stated. “If we see tariffs levied against Canada, we need to have the tools at our disposal to respond accordingly.”

While recognizing that existing trade agreements with Europe and Pacific nations limit Canada’s ability to adopt a broad “Buy Canadian” approach, Nuttall said that local governments must have the flexibility to act in the best interests of their communities.

“It doesn’t mean we have to use these tools,” he said, “but we should at least understand what options are available if a trade war escalates in the coming weeks or months.”

Council passed multiple by-law amendments, including: