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Downtown square will be blocked off until public health measures are lifted

Barrie mayor says fencing around Meridian Place and Memorial Square was revisited due to the 'changing nature of the gatherings'
Sat March 20 protest 6 2021-03-22
People protesting provincial lockdown measures are shown at a 'freedom rally' at Meridian Place on March 20.

Meridian Place will be fenced off Friday as authorities attempt to deter “freedom rally” attendees from unsafely gathering at the public space in downtown Barrie.

The ongoing rallies, which have been happening for seven weeks now, will not occur at Meridian Place this Saturday after it was announced earlier Thursday that the city plans to place fencing around the Dunlop Street East park.  

In an email, Mayor Jeff Lehman told BarrieToday that while he did say last week Meridian Place would not be blocked off using fences or barricades, things have changed since then. 

“Given the changing nature of the gatherings, in that they have attracted more people, and after receiving legal advice this week, we feel this is a necessary step to take to deter these gatherings,” said Lehman.

Meridian Place and Memorial Square are expected to be blocked off Friday and will remain that way for the foreseeable future, according to the mayor's order.

The square will be closed “until such gatherings are no longer prohibited through legislation or regulations," the city said in a news release issued Thursday morning. 

The gatherings, which have typically been between 300 and 500 people, run contrary to the provincial stay-at-home order, provincial legislation and regulations, the city’s COVID-19 emergency measures bylaw and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit’s public health guidelines. 

While the protests could occur elsewhere, Lehman hopes the fencing helps deter them altogether.  

“It is our hope that the fences discourage the gatherings that have been taking place,” he said. “We are asking residents to not gather in groups anywhere and only go out for essential purposes.”

With the fencing acting as a deterrent and crowd management being a police matter, Lehman did say the city is still “exploring all available actions to stop these gatherings, including possible court action for an injunction to restrain the organizers.”

But exactly what that means and how it would be enforced remain unclear. 

Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday that police will continue to stick to their operational plans for the gathering should it happen elsewhere, but added they have had discussions with the organizer about not hosting the rallies at all.

“We have spoken to the organizer and explained there are options available and things to consider in these situations,” Leon said. “We hope that the group will refrain from meeting any further (and will) adhere to the health guidelines.”

Leon continued by saying the police department’s “emphasis has always been focused and will remain focused on the continued safety of our community and our officers.”

The most recent rally took place last Saturday and saw some pushback from people who are upset that the anti-lockdown protesters are breaking public health regulations. They created noise to drown out some of the anti-lockdown speakers.

Police said about 10 people were ticketed with $880 fines at last Saturday’s ‘freedom rally' for breaching Ontario’s stay-at-home order.

Police handed out nine tickets during the previous two Saturdays, including one on April 10 to the organizer and eight on April 17 to the organizer and seven attendees.