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DEPUTATIONS CONCERNING MOTION 25-G-015, 2025 BUSINESS PLAN AND BUDGET - SERVICE PARTNERS BY THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS:
1. Michael Speers outlined his concerns about the Barrie Police Service budget including that policing is a more discriminatory and violent method of control, and that that further investments in policing would be a detriment to the community.
Mr. Speers advised that he felt that evidence indicates that higher police budgets do not necessarily lead to a safer community and outlined the reasons for his opinion; as follows:
* over policing harms communities and can impact marginalized neighbourhoods and vulnerable populations creating a climate of fear and mistrust between law enforcement and the public.
* police are not equipped to address the root causes of crime which Mr. Speers noted he felt are items such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, mental health challenges, and inadequate access to services and employment opportunities. He felt that year after year the police budget grows but that social services, mental health programs, transit the library, and other community initiatives remain badly underfunded.
* a higher police budget diverts resources from programs that could have a greater impact on community well-being and can be directed to providing more housing, more shelter spaces, mental health supports, better transit and supervised consumption sites.
Mr. Speers outlined his thoughts advising he felt that prioritizing the police budget is choosing a reactive approach over a proactive one which includes violent encampment evictions over creating accessible shelter spaces for everyone who needs them.
Mr. Speers noted that he felt that the BPS budget should not be approved and should be reduced by 10% including a hiring freeze. He advised he felt that safety needs to be reimagined which means reallocating resources to address the root causes of crime, investing in community building initiatives and ensuring that ever...
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