Late Wednesday afternoon, the City of Barrie announced the Busby Centre had committed to stop its daily outreach program handing out food and supplies along the waterfront, ending a controversial proposal that sparked days of protests.
Following this latest development, the City said it would refer the proposed bylaw amendments back to city staff "because council deems it is no longer necessary."
The proposed amendments intended to push organizations like the Busby Centre to move outreach programs to private property following "numerous complaints the City received from residents over many years."
Mayor Alex Nuttall said the bylaw aimed to ensure city parks are safe for residents and visitors.
"Upwards of 100 individuals experiencing homelessness, some experiencing mental health issues, many experiencing addiction issues - down to a place where you have a water park for children down at Heritage Park. So we need to make sure that we both help those individuals in our community who are hurting and who are experiencing homelessness and at the same time, we also need to make sure we have safe spaces and places for our families and for our children," he said.
The bylaw amendments were set to be considered at Wednesday night's council meeting.
"This is a positive step forward for council, and as such, the proposed bylaw is not needed to proceed at this time. I would like to thank the Busby Centre for their partnership," Nuttall stated.
The City said council would look to "modernize outdated language" within existing bylaws that prevent individuals from handing out food and supplies.