Mucci is the founder and CEO of Lice Squad, a head-lice treatment company she launched 25 years ago. The business has successfully since grown to 36 franchise locations across Canada. 

In 2025, as CBC’s Dragon’s Den prepared for its 20th season, the long-running reality show began searching for Canadian entrepreneurs to pitch business ideas to a five-member panel of venture capitalists in hopes of securing financing and partnerships. 

A longtime fan of the show, Mucci decided to apply. 

“I’ve been watching this show religiously since it started and always wanted to be on it, but I was afraid I wasn’t ready or that everything had to be perfect,” she said. 

“When the opportunity for the 20th anniversary season came up, I thought, why not give it a shot?” 

Mucci’s episode aired Jan. 8, 2026. She asked the panel for mentorship and an investment of $150,000 in exchange for five per cent of Lice Squad. 

While she did not secure a deal, Mucci said the experience was still valuable. 

“My biggest takeaway from appearing on Dragon’s Den was that perfection is the enemy of done nor one,” she said.

“You should always face your fears and be your authentic self, without apology.” 

Mucci said nerves affected her pitch, causing her to temporarily forget key figures during questioning from the panel. Ultimately, the panelists said her valuation and uncertainty around her most recent financial numbers contributed to their decision not to make a deal. 

“I ran so many scenarios through my head that when it came time to pitch, I was overwhelmed and forgot my numbers,” she said. 

“I feel like that cost me the opportunity to make a deal.” 

Despite that, she said she has no regrets. 

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” she said. 

“It was a very positive experience. I learned a lot and received valuable feedback.” Mucci said she would consider applying again in the future, armed with what she learned. 

“I’d love a second chance. Knowing what I know now, I feel more confident — and I’d still love the opportunity to partner with a Dragon one day.” 

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The event will take place Saturday, Jan. 24, at Burton Avenue United Church and will showcase international performers through featured concerts, workshops and guitar masterclasses.

International musicians scheduled to attend include Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister and Canadian guitarist Emma Rush, both of whom will perform during the festival.

Barrie native and guitarist Tim Beattie founded the festival and will oversee the event. In a news release, he said the idea for a guitar festival in his hometown began when he was a young musician.

“This is the kind of event I dreamed of growing up in Barrie,” he said.

“If I wanted to hear professional guitarists perform or feel part of a wider musical community, I had to travel to Toronto or even farther. Simcoe Guitar is about bringing that inspiration home.”

Beattie now lives in the United Kingdom, where he teaches at the University of St. Andrews, while continuing to perform across Europe and North America. He credited growing up in Barrie with helping shape his love of music.

“I grew up here, participated in local music festivals, and was shaped by this community. This festival is my way of giving back and creating new opportunities for the next generation of musicians,” he said.

Beattie said bringing accomplished guitarists to Barrie offers local musicians a chance to listen,
learn and connect with professionals in the field.

“This is a rare opportunity for Barrie audiences,” he said.

“You’re hearing artists who perform internationally, right here in our community.”

The Simcoe Guitar Festival is planned as a full-day event, running from 10 a.m. to 5p.m.

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On Dec. 10, Barrie business owner and resident Eric Eastman presented Essa Township council with an antique church bell that had been missing for 38 years.

The bell, once mounted to an outdoor brick-and-cement monument at the Essa Township administration centre along Simcoe County Road 21 outside Baxter, was reported stolen in late 1987. At the time, Ontario Provincial Police launched an investigation, but the bell was never recovered.

Eastman told council members and township officials the long journey to its return began about 15 years ago during a vacation he took to Atlantic Canada, when a chance conversation led to an unexpected discovery.

“I met this older man during a trip in New Brunswick — he asked if I had heard of a community in Ontario called Baxter, which I said of course because I went to public school there when I was a kid,” he said.

“This man said he and his wife were given this bell from Baxter years earlier by another couple — this little church-type bell. I did some research on a missing bell from Essa, and I discovered this bell went missing. I managed to get in contact with the couple who had it, and I had been talking with them for years about trying to get the bell back.”

Eastman said the couple never knew exactly how the bell made its way from Essa Township to New Brunswick, but they were reluctant to part with it. Earlier this year, after learning the couple had died, Eastman began working with their estate to retrieve the bell.

Eventually, he was told he could have the bell if he was willing to travel to the eastern province to collect it. In September, Eastman and friend Wes Ayranto, a Barrie realtor, drove to New Brunswick and brought the bell home.

“I wanted to return this piece of history to Essa,” Eastman said. “I knew it belonged here, and I felt a responsibility to see it come back to the community where it started.”

Ayranto said he wanted to help his friend, knowing the return of the bell would be meaningful for the township.

“Eric talked about how long he’d been working to return this bell, and it was clear he wanted to do the right thing,” Ayranto said.

“Helping him bring it back felt like the right thing to do.”

Mayor Sandie Macdonald said she was surprised and grateful when she learned the bell had been found and would be returned.

“This is a great way to end 2025,” she said.

“What Mr. Eastman did to bring this back here — he got rid of the Christmas Grinch and brought in the best Christmas gift — our missing bell.”

The bell was originally used at St. Peter’s West Anglican Church from 1862 to 1982 before being relocated to the monument. Township officials say plans are underway to reinstall the bell in early 2026.

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Cleanup crews and police were on site Sept. 11 after notices of action were issued the day before.

Nuttall said 36 of 44 people living at the encampment have accepted local support services. He emphasized the state of emergency as the right move to address growing safety concerns.

“It’s important that we acted, and we acted in the way that we have because we take this very seriously – we are really trying to focus on moving forward out of this emergency,” he said.

The mayor pointed to recent violence and health hazards as justification, citing a double homicide where dismembered body parts were found, high E. coli readings leaking into Kempenfelt Bay from Dyments Creek, multiple fires, and weapons and drugs discovered in tents.

“These are signs that we are in an emergency,” he said.

Nuttall cautioned that eliminating all encampments across the city will take time.

“It will take months to do this correctly,” he said.

“There are quite a lot of people living homeless here, so this will take some time to work through – day by day, person by person.”

He added that people seeking support will continue to have access to mental health care, addiction treatment, housing programs and employment assistance.

“You will see progression across the city and we will ensure no encampments are left and that folks who need more help will get it,” Nuttall said.

The mayor said the response since the declaration has been positive so far.

“People have been waiting for the help to be given to individuals who need it, but they’ve also been waiting for order to be restored on the streets of our city,” he said.

“It’s something that requires a lot of work, coordination and resources. The goal is to keep our city a place where the community feels safe and strong.”

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The Barrie-born comedian is joining the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) ahead of the popular live sketch comedy show’s 51st season.

NBC announced that Slowikowska, 29, will join four other comedians – Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall and Kam Patterson – as new featured players. The announcement follows several recent cast departures, including Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim.

Slowikowska, who grew up in Barrie and attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School, later studied at Toronto’s Randolph College for the Performing Arts and completed the Canadian Film Centre’s Actor’s Conservatory.

She began her comedy career with My Chemical Bromance, a Toronto-based musical comedy group. Her television credits include Davey & Jonesie’s Locker, Poker Face, What We Do in the Shadows and Murdoch Mysteries. She has also appeared in the films EXmas and I Like Movies.

In 2025, she won a Canadian Screen Award for best lead performer in a children’s or youth program for her role in Davey & Jonesie’s Locker.

The comic, who splits her time between Toronto and New York City, shared her excitement on Instagram, writing: “dreams come true. See you Saturdays.”

Slowikowska has also built a large following on social media platforms Instagram and TikTok.

She is the only Canadian among the new SNL hires this season.

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“Lakehead, like many other universities, is exploring opportunities to expand its domestic enrolment given the federal government’s decision to decrease enrolment of international students,” he wrote in an email to the Barrie Compass.

In January, the Federal government announced a 35 per cent cut to the number of visas it would issue to those studying at the college or undergraduate university level — as well as a 50 per cent cut within Ontario. In September, further restrictions to bring the total number down by an additional 10 per cent each year for the foreseeable future were also announced.

The moves came as rude shocks to comptrollers at universities reliant on the higher fees paid by students from abroad. According to Statistics Canada, the average international student pays $38,251 per year in tuition fees, compared to $7,542 for domestic students.

As a result of this fee imbalance, many Canadian colleges and universities had been prioritizing increasing international enrolment. Between 2014 and 2023, the number of foreign students rose from about 240,000 to more than a million.

At McGill and the University of British Columbia, international students now account for more than 30 per cent the student population. At Lakehead, where only 18 per cent of students are from outside of Canada, the financial pinch is less severe. According to Jones, however, it faces another problem — a dwindling local population.

Between 1986 and 2023, Thunder Bay’s population fell by about 3.3 per cent. Other cities in Northern Ontario. including North Bay and Timmins, have seen similar declines. This is in stark contrast to the situation in central Ontario. The situation in central and southern Ontario is very different. According to the city’s estimates, Barrie’s population is expected to reach 300,000 by the middle of the century.

“Given the decreasing populations in the north, Barrie is obviously viewed as an important area for potential development by this university,” writes Jones.

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On Wednesday, its elected members all voted in favour of adopting a $342.6 plan expected to keep the city’s operational expenses flat for the third year in a row.

“It is a financially difficult time for many families and I think we’ve been able to strike a really strong balance for this year where we’re continuing with that zero per cent [increase] in operations [spending],” the mayor said after the vote.

The plan details how civic programs, services and infrastructure projects will be funded, though the final budgets for the city’s police and libraries as well as for services provided by Simcoe County are not included and will be finalized in the coming months.

This is the first year Nuttall has been personally responsible for issuing a budget proposal using the strong mayor powers vested in his office by the province late last year. Under the strong mayor legislation, mayors propose budgets, written in consultation with city staff, to councils.

Nuttall also took the opportunity to thank city staffers involved in putting the budget proposal together. “I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the many, many, many, many people across the corporation­ who put in hours and hours and hours and hours of time to make it easy for the eleven of us. Your work doesn’t go unseen — it is recognized.”

The spending plan also features what the mayor describes as a “very robust infrastructure plan” increasing spending on fire and emergency services, curbside collection, snow clearing, road repairs, public transit, parks and water treatment. These rises are expected to be offset by cost-saving measures.

“It took a lot, especially given the financial conditions we’re facing today. It is a financially difficult time for many families and I think we’ve been able to strike a really strong balance for this year where we’re continuing with that zero per cent with operations, we’re going forward with a very robust infrastructure plan.”

These investments will come with a modest tax increase for the city’s home owners. Next year, the city will collect $197.8 million from home owners. For each million dollars in assessed property value, bills will rise by about $270 — or, roughly, two per cent. With year-over-year inflation at two per cent, property taxes will remain flat in real terms.

“On the local level, what we’ve been trying to do is to control taxation and control spending and to bring forward a budget that doesn’t just grow at the rates of other municipalities. When you look at municipalities around us, they’re hitting six, seven, eight per cent tax increases this year,” Nuttall said during an interview before the vote.

While it is not clear which specific municipalities he was referring to, unusually expensive budget plans and steep tax increases have been announced by several Ontario cities of similar size to Barrie. Brampton is expected to see its spending grow by 6.4 per cent next year while Windsor’s property taxes are set to rise by 7.4 per cent.

He added that during his time in office, the city’s fiscal position had improved alongside its credit rating, and that this was allowing it to move forward on projects that had waited on the back burner for decades. “The main difference is that we’ve been able to really right-size the finances. . . we’re likely moving to a triple-A rating and that will reduce our debt costs and give us more money to spend on the things people expect.”

Among these long-stalled projects, he noted that the Barrie Performing Arts Centre, first proposed when he was one year old, only began receiving investments during his tenure. The 2025 budget plan sets aside $2.5 million in contributions to the project and similar investments are expected to be made each year through 2029. Despite this, the budget document notes that more funding will be needed to resolve a forecast gap before construction can move forward.

While speaking with the Barrie Compass, Nuttall praised the prudence and dedication of city staff in their efforts to find efficiencies and new sources of revenue. “The staff are the ones who made this happen. . . Over three years, the tax savings from those will equate to about $8 million — [equivalent to] about a three per cent increase to property taxes.”

The 2025 budget proposal is likely to be officially adopted next week, following a largely ceremonial ratification vote.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the 2025 budget plan was Nuttall’s second strong mayor budget rather than his first.

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“The opportunity for [global] conflict is certainly with us right now,” Maj. Gen. Richard Rohmer, an author, aviator and historian said during an interview with the Barrie Compass. “Leaders are shouting at each other, making all kinds of commitments and demands. There’s a lot of tension in the air between the big nations.”

The centenarian, who turns 101 in January, added that the current geopolitical climate is eerily similar to the one that preceded the Second World War — a conflict in which he flew 135 missions as a fighter and reconnaissance pilot.

“We now have a lot of countries where the leader is just one person who doesn’t really respond to the advice of others — and that’s where the danger is greatest,” he says. “There’s a lot of hatred — particularly in Europe, so that hasn’t changed at all. We’re in a very dangerous time, I think.”

The comments came after an event to name a roundabout at Georgian College in Barrie after the war hero. Located in the centre of the 45-acre campus, the ring-shaped roadway encircles the military-connected college’s cenotaph.

The event included a ceremonial colour guard drawn from members of the local wing of the RCAF Association, Huronia. The six-member volunteer force was commanded by retired Major Murray Conley, who served between 1956 and 1993.

Among his many military achievements, Rohmer is best known for his role in knocking Nazi Germany’s most feared general out of the fight. In July 1944, the 19-year-old Mustang pilot caught sight of a German staff car racing its way through Normandy. After reporting it to RCAF brass, the vehicle was strafed by another pilot. Two years later, he would learn the identity of one of the passengers — Field Marshall Erwin Rommel. While the desert fox survived the attack, it left him out of commission during the following months.

Eighty years on and Rohmer says he has a degree of respect for the vanquished enemy commander. “I admire him as a general — he was superb. He had great victories against us in North Africa and was in command of the German forces against us in France.”

Several months after the attack, Rommel, who never joined the Nazi party, did face a grim end — though not at Allied hands. Suspicious of the Field Marshall’s closeness to men involved in a failed assassination against Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer blackmailed him into committing suicide in order to save his family.

Rohmer, who now lives in Collingwood, adds that he’s glad Rommel’s ultimate fate did not come as a result of his actions. “I admired him as a general and was also pleased to have not contributed to any direct injury to him.”

The war hero, who still holds a private pilot’s license, lamented that Canada had allowed its strength in the sky to wane over the past few decades. “Right now, our Air Force is not strong, but it is going to get stronger. It has to because the Americans are going to make it so.”

The old soldier, who says he is enjoying his second century of life, added that young Canadians interested in rewarding careers should consider testing their mettle in the Royal Canadian Air Force. “I started off on my 18th birthday. . . and I’m still in it. I’m serving as the Honorary Lieutenant General of the Canadian Forces, a very highly paid position. Zero [dollars] but a great deal of prestige.”

A member of the colour guard, retired Chief Warrant Officer Walter Capsticks who served between 1963 and 1994, agreed. “Right now, we’re also facing a shortage of people in the skilled trades. That’s why we’re glad to see this event taking place at Georgian College, which has a long history of working with the Canadian Forces.”

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This week, Canada’s top amateur curling competition underway at the Barrie Curling Club. After the last end is played on Sunday, the winners of the men’s and women’s competitions will be named Canada’s best amateur teams.

“To get here, each team has won its club championship and its regional championship,” says the event’s host committee chair Tony Marquis who led the organizing of the event. “The winners will go on to play the top amateur American teams in September.”

Beyond bragging rights, members of the 28 teams are competing for provincial and territorial pride. Each has sent at least two four- or five-person crews — one male and one female. Ontario, which has both a northern and southern curling association, is being represented by two men’s and two women’s teams.

“The champions are also invited to play against the winners of [the professional league] at an invitational event,”says Jordan Keon, the skip Thornhill-based southern Ontario team who has won the men’s competition for the past three years. “Two years ago, we played against Brad Gushue. Of course, we lost — but it was great.”

With Keon’s team undefeated halfway through the competition, history appears likely to repeat itself. On Wednesday afternoon, Keon and teammates Ryan Werenich, Curtis Samoy and Trevor Talbott, played their fourth game against the highly touted Newfoundland and Labrador team skipped by Randy Turpin. In the first end, the home team hurled away the Rock team’s rocks, scoring three points. While the easterners scored two points in the second end, the Ontarians never surrendered their lead.

With three straight losses, the Nunavut men’s team, which is skipped by Wade Kingdon, may not have had much luck on the ice. Its players, however, believe their long trip has been entirely worthwhile.

“It’s the curling event of the year,” says team member Hunter Tootoo, who also served as Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard from 2015 to 2019. “This one is great event, and I’ve been to six or seven of these.”

At 61, Tootoo is one of the oldest athletes competing in the event. He jokes that the team might have done better with someone else — but that finding one might prove difficult.

“Our club is the only place you can curl in Nunavut — and we’re in three time zones. We’ve got about 40 members right now and don’t usually get the chance to compete against players of this calibre.”

The competition remains fierce in the women’s league. While the P.E.I. team (skipped by Amanda Colter) is undefeated after playing three games, the Quebec (Gabrielle Lavoie) Saskatchewan (Samantha Yachiw), Manitoba (Deb McCreanor) and Nova Scotia’s (Michelle Armstrong) have each played four games with only one loss. According to unconfirmed rumours, however, the Nova Scotian team is the bookie’s favourite.

“I’ve been blown away by the standard of play,” says Marquis. “They make throwing a 44-pound rock 150 feet away with pinpoint accuracy look easy!”

This is the first national curling competition to be hosted by the 148-year-old Barrie Curling Club. He says Curling Canada chose the city after the club delivered a spectacular pitch to Curling Canada which was produced in conjunction with Tourism Barrie.

“We felt we had the facility, the ice surface, the hotels and the city to make it work. Curling Canada agreed,” says Marquis. “This has taken us hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours, but it has come together. . . . Because Taylor Swift’s concerts in Toronto overlapped with the event, we had to shuttle everyone up from the airport.”

The volunteers also worked to secure the financial backing of the Canadian government, as well as from 17 corporate partners, including Home Hardware, Points Bet and TSN. “We’ve had such exceptional sponsors that we don’t have to charge people at the door,” he says. “In lieu of charging, we’ve asked patrons to bring in non-perishable goods or to donate to the Barrie food bank.”

According to Marquis, each game has brought in about 200 spectators. He adds that the members of the Barrie Curling Club hope the interest generated by the event might help raise the profile of the sport with locals. “During the pandemic, our membership numbers cratered. We went from more than 600 members, to about 400.”

While it recently crossed the 600-member threshold for a second time, Marquis says the cutting-edge facility could accommodate many more new players. “My advice to anyone who moves to a new city is to join the curling club. It’s a great way to make friends.”

He adds that the sport is particularly well-suited to families, as it is relatively safe, appropriate for players of most ages and encourages good sportsmanship.

“Curlers are a different sort of person. The game is played with no referees — you call your own rule infractions. It’s a game for gentlemen —  and gentlewomen. Gentlepersons, that is!”

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On Wednesday, Sarah Ban, a chartered public accountant at Deloitte announced the results of its annual value for service audit covering the financial relationship between the city and the county at a Barrie council meeting.

“It appears that the city is a net recipient for paramedic services, community services and social housing, wheras it is not a net recipient for long-term care and child services. Provided that Ontario Works is done solely on a caseload allocation, the city of Barrie’s received costs and benefits appear appropriate.”

Earlier this year, Deloitte was engaged by the Barrie to perform a value-for-money service audit covering 2021 through 2023. Last year, the city received about $112 million in services from the county.

According to Ban, the audit was completed in four distinct phases. First, her team investigated Simcoe’s adherence to the municipal services management agreement with Barrie, concluding it was compliant in terms of cost allocations for shared services over the time period.

Second, it considered whether grants and other revenues received by the county were used appropriately and fairly to Barrie and Orillia. Again, the auditing team found the county to be compliant with the agreement in this area.

Third, it compared these results to publicly available data from a similarly sized city and county — Waterloo and Wellington County. In the final stage, Deloitte’s auditing team used this comparative information to make recommendations about future cost-sharing agreements.

“It appears [Simcoe] has lower costs for providing paramedic services, community services and social housing. It scores [about] on average in Ontario Works and children’s services. In addition, it appears that long-term care beds are more accessible in [Simcoe] than in Waterloo and Wellington County.”

“When it comes to social services, it is more funding than expected. But when it goes across to long-term care services it’s less than expected,” Mayor Nuttall said during the question period following Ban’s presentation.

“So, we’re receiving more for shelter beds for the homeless — a problem that is rampant across the country — and less for children and seniors. Is that, overall, accurate?”

“It’s difficult to simplify it to that degree, given the nature of each of those services. Having said that, given our analysis, you are reading it correctly.”

Ban had also presented her results to Simcoe council during its meeting on November 12. In a statement provided by Warden Basil Clarke, he said the findings “point to good value for Barrie taxpayers.”

“Of particular note, Deloitte concluded that the county has delivered quality services at a lower cost than its comparator municipalities for providing paramedic services, community services and social housing. These three service areas make up the majority of the operational costs associated with our shared service agreement with the city of Barrie.”

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