Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall has declared a state of emergency to address the city’s growing homelessness encampments, citing escalating health, safety and environmental risks that he said have reached a “breaking point.”
The announcement came Tuesday morning outside the Barrie courthouse on Mulcaster Street, where tents and makeshift shelters have lined the sidewalks. Nuttall was joined by local MPs John Brassard and Doug Shipley, Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson, and councillors Clare Riepma, Craig Nixon, Nigussie Nigussie and Bryn Hamilton.
“Barrie residents have had enough,” Nuttall said.
“Since day one I have been clear that encampments are not acceptable in the City of Barrie. We are here to help those who want help and there are resources available today. If you refuse that help you cannot stay in these encampments.”
The declaration gives the city expanded authority under Ontario’s Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to clear camps, hire contractors, and coordinate with outside agencies.
A task force, chaired by city CAO Michael Prowse or his designate, will be formed to coordinate the response to encampments, drug use and social services.
The city is also asking the County of Simcoe to open more shelter beds and review existing supports, including the option of returning unhoused individuals to their home communities.
Barrie will also press Ontario for more funding to expand shelter and social services.
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The move follows a series of high-profile incidents tied to encampments, including a double homicide off Victoria Street and Anne Street South and high E. coli contamination levels in Dyments Creek which connects to Kempenfelt Bay. Cleanup is expected to take months and cost several million dollars. Other problems cited by the mayor include arson, overdoses, theft, trespassing, open drug use, assaults and discarded needles in parks.
“While I support council’s plan to deliver new space in the HART Hub, we have simply run out of time,” Nuttall said.
“The City of Barrie did not have control over this emergency until now.”
The HART Hub (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) supports the treatment and recovery of individuals who experience homelessness and addiction issues.
Coun. Nixon, who represents the downtown area, said the state of emergency is a needed step.
“I support the actions of Mayor Nuttall, who I believe is taking the necessary steps to assist those in need and to restore safe neighbourhoods for those hardworking, taxpaying citizens who deserve better – this is not simply putting a label on a problem,” Nixon said.
Since 2023, Barrie has tried a mix of shuttle services, housing support programs and partnerships with the county and province. Earlier this year, the city and county cleared the Berczy Park encampment, with 75 per cent of those displaced later finding housing or entering services.
Before becoming Barrie’s mayor, Nuttall raised concerns about the opioid crisis during his time as a federal MP.
In December 2018, as the MP for Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte, he called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons, urging the elimination of barriers to recovery services.
In March 2019, Nuttall appeared before Barrie council to request a series of actions aimed at tackling the opioid crisis locally.
