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Council sworn in for the next term, time to get at it (18 photos)

Inaugural meeting kicks off Barrie city council's 2018-22 term

In a sea of white roses, the next four-year term of Barrie council officially got underway Monday night at city hall.

With six new members and five returnees, members of council were sworn in during the inaugural meeting of the 2018-22 term in front of a family, friends and supporters.

Councillors, both new and old, extended many thanks to those in the council chambers who have supported them along the way.

New councillors for the upcoming term include Clare Riepma, Keenan Aylwin, Robert Thomson, Natalie Harris, Gary Harvey and Jim Harris, while returning for another term are Doug Shipley, Barry Ward, Sergio Morales and Mike McCann, as well as Mayor Jeff Lehman. 

Also in attendance was former mayor Dave Aspden (2006-10), Barrie-Innisfil MP and former city councillor John Brassard, representatives from the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, CFB Borden, Simcoe County, MP Alex Nuttall’s office, local faith groups, mayors from neighbouring municipalities as well as most of the city’s senior staff.

In his opening address to council, Lehman outlined some of the items that will fill the agendas in the months ahead, including transit, affordable housing, opioids, parks and traffic.

“All of this starts with a straightforward vision, a city that charts its own course,” he said. “Not as a suburb or a satellite city, but … with its strong and independent economy.

“Our future has never been as a bedroom community,” he added. “And although we already have one of the lowest rates of out-commuting in southern Ontario, we can still do a lot more to ensure there are careers in our city, located closer to home, and not just jobs.”

Lehman said that will take diversification of the economy, including “big data,” manufacturing, digital media and tourism.

“In today’s economy, the cities that succeed are the ones that build up a highly skilled workforce and are able to attract and retain talent,” he said. “Training the workforce of tomorrow, in lockstep with Georgian College, is essential to our success.”

The mayor said prosperity also depends on having strong and just society.

“In Barrie today, we face the twin challenges of homelessness and the opioid crisis,” he said. “There’s little question that these challenges are powerful, complex and difficult. And to address them, we’re going to have to target not only the symptoms, but their causes.

“If we’re going to succeed in these crises, we’re going to have to double down on dignity and compassion,” Lehman said to applause for the audience.

The city will also continue to address affordable housing, an issue which Lehman said the previous council made great gains on by meeting its five-year target in only three years.

By the end of this term in 2022, the mayor said council’s goal should be to have no homeless people in Barrie.

Also in the term ahead, Lehman said he would like to see a new public feature in each ward, such as parks in residential areas to new and expanded sidewalks downtown.

Through all of this, council must also strive to keep taxes down while also addressing infrastructure repairs, said Lehman, who also noted a four-year term can go surprisingly quick.

Lehman ended his address to council with words of advice from the city’s first mayor, Willard Kinzie, whose funeral was held earlier on Monday.

“The advice he gave council then (in 2010) was to be bold,” he said. “Willard once told me there will always be people who don’t want change; don’t let them stop you. … For city council, the rest is up to us. Together, let’s do this.”


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Raymond Bowe

About the Author: Raymond Bowe

Raymond is an award-winning journalist who has been reporting from Simcoe County since 2000
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