No one disputes there’s a problem with homelessness and affordable housing in Barrie, but where the city council candidates differ is on how to fix it and what is already being done.
Grace United Church hosted a two-hour meeting Tuesday night, referred to by organizers as an all-candidates accountability assembly. Also participating were the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness, the Simcoe County Poverty Reduction Task Group and KAIROS.
Each group, plus the Gilbert Centre, provided statements (full statements included at the bottom of the story) on topics such as affordable housing, safe injection sites and transit.
Each candidate was then asked how much support they would provide if elected.
There were 19 councillor candidates in attendance, including Ward 1’s Graham Allary, Erin Hennigar, Dusko Jankov, Ann-Marie Kungl and Clare Riepma, Ward 2’s Keenan Aylwin, Richard Forward, Yolanda Gallo and Rose Romita, Ward 3’s Lynn-Anne Hill, Ward 4’s Bryan Harris and Barry Ward, Ward 6’s Natalie Harris and Colin Nelthorpe, Ward 7’s Gary Harvey and Bonnie North, Ward 8’s Jim Harris and Shelly Skinner, and Ward 10’s John Olthuis.
None of the four candidates from Ward 5 attended, while Ward 9’s Sergio Morales, who has been acclaimed, was also not in attendance.
Candidates endorsed the ‘housing first’ concept, which is an approach that offers permanent, affordable housing as quickly as possible for homeless people, followed by supports and services people need to keep their homes and avoid falling back into homelessness.
Allary said he could “pretty much commit” to supporting all five statements presented at the outset.
“I’m an end-result guy and I want to know all the facts,” Allary said. “For affordable housing, I’m 100% on that. That is an easy one.
“My only question is, where have you been? This isn’t something in 2018; this is something that started a long time ago,” he added. “This isn’t new. I’m saddened by the fact that we’re addressing things that I think we should’ve addressed years ago.”
Allary said there’s more to the housing problem than candidates just committing to saying they want to fix it.
“All of these are good ideas, but they need much more thinking, planning and we need yourself as an ingredient in all of it,” he said.
Riepma, who has volunteered with the Out of the Cold program, said a housing-first approach has worked elsewhere and it can work here, too.
“The question really is where and who pays,” he said. “If all of the agencies bring forward a proposal and a workable plan, I’m very happy to sit down and and listen.”
Kungl, another Out of the Cold volunteer, said it’s a matter of will to fix the homelessness problem.
“There is also an invisible side, which is housing insecurity,” she said, “and the number of people who have identified not having a place to stay throughout the year, and that they’re using a friend’s couch or the good will of neighbours, but they have no housing security.”
Jankov said when he immigrated to Canada, he was astonished that such a beautiful country could have its citizens living on the street.
“You have to look after your people first,” he said, adding it should be a priority of city council. “That’s the most important thing for this city.”
Harvey said his teenage daughter is already concerned about living on her own in such an expensive city.
“The city’s doing a good job, but I think we need to do a better job,” said Harvey, adding the city needs a “multi-faceted approach,” including expediting affordable housing projects and secondary suites in the south-end annexed land.
Aylwin said the taxpayer wouldn’t see their taxes go up if more affordable housing is built.
“You’re already paying for it, whether you like it or not,” he said. “We’re paying for it in higher health-care costs, we’re paying for it in policing costs and people going to jail. Either we pay now or we pay later.
“We need to get to the root causes and the one area the city can act is social housing,” Alywin added. “We need to be upfront and honest about what that looks like.”
Forward, who's past-president of Barrie Housing, said social housing is well integrated into neighbourhoods.
“Most people in this room may not even know when they drive by that it’s a Barrie Non-Profit Housing site,” he said.
Hennigar said she supports all five statements set out at the beginning of the meeting. “I will be a champion for all of them,” she said.
The Barrie Chamber of Commerce has organized a debate for Monday, Oct. 15 from 6-8 p.m. at Lions Gate Banquet Hall, located at 386 Blake St., beginning at 6 p.m.
A Ward 2 all-candidates forum will also be held Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 7-9 p.m. at the Five Points Theatre, located at 1 Dunlop St. W., in downtown Barrie.
***********************
Statements presented to candidates are as follows.
Simcoe Alliance to End Homelessness Barrie Chapter:
1. If elected, I commit to championing a Housing First approach to ending homelessness in our community and upholding housing as a fundamental human right as outlined in the Ontario Human Rights Code. I will do this by supporting municipal bylaws, policies, and procedures that protect those rights, including creative planning and investments in affordable housing that include options and choice for marginalized populations.
2. If elected, I commit to ensuring that affordable housing is defined as "housing for low- to moderate-income households which does not exceed 30% of the gross household income," and enforcing this definition in all relevant policy documents, strategic planning, and affordable housing targets as outlined in the Simcoe County Affordable Housing Strategy 2014-2024.
Simcoe County Poverty Reduction Task Group:
3. If elected, I commit to support the City of Barrie in becoming a certified living wage employer and promoting living wage.
Grace United Church and KAIROS:
4. If elected, I commit to ensuring that affordable, accessible transportation is made available to all residential, business and industrial sectors in Barrie as this is essential to a healthy, sustainable and robust community. Public transportation is a vital service required by all levels of society, particularly those residents affected by isolation or by distance from employment, food sources, social services, housing and medical assistance.
Gilbert Centre:
5. If elected, I commit to reviewing the evidence presented to Barrie City Council in June of 2018 by the Gilbert Centre for Social and Support Services, which clearly demonstrates that the City of Barrie has an Overdose Crisis. I commit to support an OPS (Overdose Prevention Site) as an immediate response to our Overdose Crisis within the City of Barrie. If it is shown that an OPS is contributing to the prevention of overdose deaths, then I will support the implementation of a permanent SIS (Safe Injection Site) for the ongoing prevention of overdose deaths within the City of Barrie.
