Barrie's Two Crises: Crackdown on Encampments Continues as City Ends Speed Enforcement Program

The City of Barrie is continuing its campaign against local encampments following Mayor Alex Nuttall’s emergency declaration on September 8, issued after the tragic killing of two residents at the Flat Rock encampment near Victoria Street.

This week, the city served evacuation notices to residents of the encampment at 240 Bradford Street, citing a recent fire as the reason for the order.

Simcoe Community Media visited the site and spoke with several residents. One man, who has lived in Barrie for 17 years and asked to remain anonymous, shared his story. He described the loss of both a child and his father within a short time—tragedies that led to addiction and eventually homelessness. Now in recovery, he has spent the past year trying to rebuild, operating a registered contracting business with his own set of tools.

His account challenges Mayor Nuttall’s claim that many encampment residents are from outside the city. With the site being cleared and shelter space already at capacity, he and others now face an uncertain future with no clear housing options provided by either the city or the province. The resident also emphasized that leaving Barrie is not an option for him due to personal commitments, despite the mayor’s stated intention to relocate people out of the community.

Meanwhile, Barrie City Council has voted to phase out its Automated Speed Enforcement program by the end of the year. The decision follows Premier Doug Ford’s announcement that the province will end the use of speed cameras, citing misuse by some municipalities and a resulting loss of public trust. Ford argued the program had become more of a cash grab than a road safety tool.

While many councillors acknowledged the cameras were effective in slowing traffic near schools, they agreed on the need to align with provincial direction. The city will now consider red light cameras and other traffic-calming strategies to maintain road safety.

“This is one tool in the toolbox,” said Mayor Nuttall. “There were traffic calming measures before—safety cameras, photo cameras, radar cameras—and there will be afterwards.”

The City of Barrie spent roughly $700,000 to run the Automated Speed Enforcement program, which generated about $1.2 million in revenue. The $500,000 surplus was directed toward road safety improvements.