Barrie mayor to formalize ‘zero-tolerance’ promise with council motion

A mushroom shop in downtown Barrie, Ont. and Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall are shown in this split-screen image. (CTV News)

On the heels of the announcement to deal with “lawlessness” in the city’s downtown core, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall is expected to follow through with a motion to council Wednesday night.

It’s a wide-ranging piece of legislation, but most importantly, it will have staff send a letter to the Barrie Police Services board, making clear the City’s support for ‘zero-tolerance’ enforcement of drug laws. City is also looking for a response from police on how it could support that kind of zero-tolerance policy. The mayor has no official power to direct police enforcement in the city.

“If somebody is smoking crack or doing some form of fentanyl or heroin or whatever they’re doing, that we have a police service out to lay charges in those circumstances and hopefully transition those people into a program that will help them get off of those types of addictions and drugs,” Nuttall said in an interview with CTV News.

• RELATED: Zero-tolerance: Barrie mayor outlines his plan of enforcement and outreach to combat drugs and crime

Also in the motion is a direct request to the County of Simcoe calling for an “immediate transfer of specialized outreach funding and responsibility from the County of Simcoe to the City of Barrie.” Currently homelessness response in the city is handled by county staff, with the city in a support role.

“It’s also important that we have the necessary outreach out there to offer the help and support to get into rehabilitation,” Nuttall said.

In anticipation of transferring outreach funding, the motion will create five new full-time jobs; Program Manager Social Services Oversight and Strategy, Encampment Response Team Lead and three Encampment Response Officers. Those roles will specifically deal with the city’s homelessness and encampment response.

• RELATED: ‘We want everybody to be safe’: Outreach centre preaches collaborative effort to solve homelessness

Further on his promise to crack down on illegal dispensaries, both marijuana and mushroom, it includes a zoning bylaw amendment to disqualify illegal uses for retail, that means the city could target with fines and shutdown notices not just the illegal dispensaries themselves, but the building owners who host them. Once that’s done, direction is included to serve notices to property owners and businesses in violation of the bylaw.

“We are going to shut down illegal drug dispensaries in the city of Barrie. If you run a mushroom shop, we are going to find a way to shut you down,” said Nuttall. “If you run an illegal and unlicensed marijuana shop, we are coming for your store front.”

Nuttall’s motion will also call on staff to send letters to the federal government for support on things like the removal of all illegal mushroom shops in Barrie and expanding diversion programs for non-violent and non-trafficking addictions charges, including mandatory rehabilitation. He’s also calling on the provincial government to amend the Mental Health Act to include mandatory rehabilitation or compassionate intervention.