Advocates blast Barrie city council for greenlighting ban on donations to people experiencing homelessness

Advocates are blasting the City of Barrie for approving a slew of policies that, if put in place, could outlaw giving food or money to people in the city who are experiencing homelessness.

In a city council meeting Wednesday, councillors approved a range of policies that staff can consider and use to address rising homelessness, including changes to city bylaws that will prohibit the use and distribution of tents and tarps on public land, and giving out food and groceries without a permit.

Staff were also directed to consider methods that would ban giving money to panhandlers on city streets, intersections and highway ramps, opting to place signs discouraging the practice in favour of donating to service agencies instead.

Former councillor Keenan Aylwin says their approach will have the opposite effect of what's intended.

"It's trying to attack people experiencing homelessness and the people and organizations who have the compassion and the heart to actually help people in a time of need," Aylwin told CBC Toronto on Saturday.

"Instead of actually housing people and addressing the root causes of homelessness, this motion is going after the most vulnerable people in our community. It's a waste of public resources," Aylwin added, saying the move "shifts blame" from a government failing to address the housing crisis to people experiencing homelessness.

Like other cities across the GTA, the city has been struggling with the issue for a number of years. In 2022 there were 722 individuals in Simcoe County experiencing homelessness, with half of that concentrated in Barrie. Almost one in five of homeless people surveyed in Barrie have moved into the city in the past year, the city says.

CBC Toronto reached out to the mayor and city councillors who moved the motion for comment, but did not hear back.

'I don't think it would stop me': Barrie resident

Aylwin also took aim at the seeming lack of consultation and public notice of the strategy, adding something like this was never passed in a single meeting during his four-year term on council.

"It's unacceptable that our friends and our neighbours, our family, our loved ones are surviving day-to-day on the street with no place to go and no place to call home. We need to house people."

Barrie resident Kim Cruea says it's a natural human instinct to want to help others who are in need.

"People are struggling nowadays and times are tough, and I think if we've lost the ability to help our mankind, then we've lost our ability to be humans at all," she told CBC Toronto. 

"I might be a little more careful about doing it, but I don't think it would stop me. I'm not going to give out the money, because of drugs or alcohol that might be purchased … but if the person is hungry, legitimately hungry, I would like to help them the best way I could, even if it's making an extra bit of spaghetti and meatballs for supper."

Dr. Maggie Hulbert, a resident physician and co-chair of national advocacy organization, Health Providers Against Poverty, says the move is part of a trend in recent years of municipalities criminalizing homelessness.

"We saw that with a lot of really violent encampment evictions," said Hulbert.

"I think this is another step in that direction and I think it's it's quite misguided."

Hulbert says the motion contains helpful direction for staff, such as requesting funding for a cooling and warming centre and addiction supports. But those positives, she says, will be overshadowed by the outlawing of encampments alone.

"The city is really walking toward more negative health outcomes for their homeless population," said Hulbert.

"I think it's being framed as a like helpful initiative, but I think there's there's some really clever wording going on. I don't think the net outcome of this motion will result in any help whatsoever."

City, businesses say motion can improve public safety

Coun. Bryn Hamilton, who introduced the motion, says it's in response to the apparent increasing number of stories from residents related to "aggressive behaviour in public spaces." It's led to businesses shutting down due to decreased foot traffic over a perceived fear of our downtown core, she said.

"This is not OK. We cannot continue to accept this as being OK."

"We want to be over the top compassionate for people in this city," said Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, adding he didn't want to be "too alarmist."

"But we need to have a lawful, safe place to live as well."

The Barrie Chamber of Commerce threw its support behind the motion ahead of the Wednesday vote, calling aggressive panhandling a "major concern" on major city intersections, streets and Highway 400 ramps.

"Education on why panhandling hurts and does not improve the situation in the long term is needed to discourage residents and visitors from contributing in this way," said executive director Paul Markle in a press release.

"Alternatively encouraging people to donate to the many agencies within the city here to support our vulnerable population would be a much better way to assist."

The motion includes a host of other directives, including asking and applying for funding for various housing and supports and approving funding for food security programs through local agencies. Staff will be providing quarterly updates to the city's Community Safety Committee on the effectiveness of the changes made.