Canadian Beat: Barrie declares state of emergency amid homelessness crisis

One of the biggest issues many of Canada’s urban centers face is dealing with homeless encampments. The city of Barrie, north of Toronto, with a population of close to 150,000, is no exception. In fact, the issue has become so acute for one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities that the mayor has declared a state of emergency. He said the community has simply run out of time.
 
Past descriptions designed to attract people to Barrie often highlighted its growing economy, affordable living and close proximity to Toronto, a draw for professionals and those with families. But in recent years, it’s garnered the reputation of having a high rate of homelessness. Mayor Alex Nuttall said enough is enough.    
 
“The city of Barrie is immediately instituting a state of emergency to reclaim our streets, our boulevards, our squares, our parks, our feeling of safety and our order,” Nuttall said.
 
During the COVID crisis, the city sanctioned the creation of an encampment to provide some temporary relief. Nuttall said that led to a mass influx of homeless people and their portable structures. But when the sanctions ended, the migration to Barrie’s tent city did not. The city now has 20 active encampments.
 
Nuttal said over the past couple of years, the provincial government and the city have increased funding to tackle the issue. Now, Nuttall believes the state of emergency has become necessary, framing it as an issue around public safety.
 
“A major increase in tents along city streets with the closure of the encampment, multiple fires being set, a tent right behind me being found with drug money, drugs, multiple crossbows and a pistol,” Nuttall said. “Assaults, rampant drug use, overdoses, theft, exposure to needles by citizens just trying to clean downtown, defecation in doorways, increased encampments and public indecency.”
 
In addition, Nuttal said E. coli is at five times normal levels in streams near the encampments. There’s a mixed reaction from city residents. Sarah Peddle runs an outreach center that works with vulnerable people in Barrie.
 
We’ve been calling for a state of emergency on homelessness for many years. From a humanistic perspective,” Peddle said. We want to see people get a house, and so we believe that it is an emergency that this is a housing and homelessness crisis. If it brings more resources to the table and more collaboration, then we are hopeful.”
        
Nuttal said the city will begin removing encampments, testing water in streams near them, hire additional staff as needed, open access to more shelter spaces, and ask the Ontario government for more money. The Ford government has said it will provide more money, prohibit the use of illicit drugs in public and impose tougher penalties. Paul Calandra is the former minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in Ford’s government.
 
“We want encampments gone. We want people to be able to enjoy their parks again,” Calandra said. “We fully understand that many who are in encampments are suffering from mental health and addictions. There will be additional resources for that. But we’ve heard loud and clear.”
 
But not everyone is on board with the Ford government’s plans. Diana Chan McNally is a crisis worker in Toronto. She believes the state of emergency will do more harm than good
 
“We are catering to a handful of people to essentially criminalize and take away some of the charter rights of people who are marginalized and unhoused,” McNally said.
 
Barrie isn’t alone in this crisis. Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury and cities across the country have seen scores of homeless encampments. The issue even reached the federal level during Canada’s spring election. The leader of the opposition Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre, blamed the influx on people living homeless on the Liberals' failed drug policies.
 
“Policies that have legalized hard drugs, pumped toxic narcotics onto our streets under the failed banner of safe supply and then left the victims with no other option,” Poilievre said. Nothing for treatment, nothing for recovery, no attempt to actually get people off drugs, and no change whatsoever to this policy.”
 
For his part, Liberal leader Mark Carney said there was no mention by Poilievre of the affordable housing crisis or of mental health issues, both of which are, in part, connected to the issue of homelessness.
 
“It’s a typical American-style approach to an issue, which Pierre Poilievre has imported,” Carney said. “If there’s a problem, I will arrest people, I will criminalize it.  As opposed to addressing the underlying challenges there.”
 
As for Barrie, it’s not clear when officials will begin the job of dismantling the encampments, and what pushback may come from it.  Carney, now as prime minister, announced yesterday a $13 billion budget for the newly created Build Canada Homes Agency, which will begin to oversee plans to build four thousand homes on half a dozen sites owned by the federal government. Carney said it’s part of an effort to speed up affordable home building.