After protests, the Barrie, Ontario, city council has shelved two controversial bylaws that would have made giving food, clothing or other goods to the homeless illegal on city property.
This Barrie grandmother is protesting a plan to ban giving food to homeless people on city property | CBC News | Clara Pasieka:
Jun 21, 2023 5:00 AM ADT - "Christine Nayler is staying in a tent outside Barrie City Hall, but it's not because she doesn't have a home. The Barrie grandmother and her peers are aiming to raise awareness about new bylaws expected to pass on Wednesday night that she says will make her work of serving her unhoused neighbours next to impossible. Nayler is the co-founder of Ryan's Hope, a non-profit corporation that serves those experiencing mental health, addiction and homelessness challenges.... The organization serves hundreds of meals each month to those experiencing homelessness.
"Bylaw[s] 67 and 68, which Barrie City Council will vote on on Wednesday, make the distribution of food, literature, clothes, tents, tarps, or other items to protect people sleeping outside from the elements illegal on city property.... Nayler ... says organizations like hers are targeted by the proposed bylaws that could see those who distribute goods fined between $500 and $100,000 for carrying out their core missions — fines they could never afford....
"Other advocacy groups against the bylaws are planning other quiet protests at city hall during the Wednesday night meeting. Faith leaders have also written a letter to councillors indicating the ban would mean they cannot act on their faith....
"Several advocates told CBC Toronto they will attempt to overturn the bylaws through a Charter challenge if they pass on June 21. Lawyers from the Community Legal Clinic of York Region have written to Barrie's mayor and council urging the councillors to press pause."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/barrie-homelessness-ban-food-1.6881689
Protesters demonstrate proposed Barrie bylaw that would “criminalize kindness” | CityNews - June 21, 2023:
City of Barrie backs down on plan to ban giving food to homeless people on its property | CBC News | Muriel Draaisma:
Jun 21, 2023 8:27 PM ADT - "The city of Barrie, Ont., has backed away from proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents and tarps to unhoused people on public property. At a meeting on Wednesday night, council decided unanimously to refer bylaws 67 and 68 back to staff.... 'There should be zero fear out there that a bylaw officer or a peace officer is going to come and ask you not to give water to someone who needs it,' Mayor Alex Nuttall told council chambers.
"The proposed bylaws have sparked controversy in Barrie for weeks. Several people in council chambers held up homemade placards on Wednesday to protest the proposed bylaws. 'We support the unhoused,' read one. 'Fight poverty, not the poor,' read another.
"Earlier, in a news release, Nuttall said the city no longer needed the proposed bylaws after a community not-for-profit organization, Busby Centre, decided to relocate its daily outreach program away from the Barrie waterfront.... According to the city, the intent of the bylaws was to stop organizations like the centre from handing out food and supplies along the Barrie waterfront and instead move their outreach to private property....
"On Tuesday, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness had set up an online tool that allowed people to send emails to Barrie councillors to protest the bylaws. Less than two hours before the meeting, more 23,000 emails had been sent, the group said."
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/barrie-homelessness-bylaws-ban-meeting-1.6884615
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