The war of words has escalated to the point of no return.

At the Wednesday, May 6 meeting of Innisfil council, Brian Jackson removed himself temporarily from the Mayor’s chair to seek his council’s support for two resolutions protesting the manner that land negotiations between Barrie and the municipality have concluded.

It is looking more likely each day the province will impose a solution on the sparring partners, a solution Jackson fears will tilt heavily in Barrie’s favour.
“The gloves are off,” Jackson said. “The rules have been bent and twisted. Not only would Innisfil be affected, but all 367,000 residents of Simcoe County would be affected, too.”

As it stands, Barrie could likely receive 2,600 “developable” hectares of land from Innisfil.

Approximately another 1,000 hectares of undevelopable land would be included in the deal. The Innisfil lands that would be surrendered represent an assessed value of almost $40 million, future potential revenue both Innisfil, and Simcoe County, sorely need, Jackson argued.
“That is enough area to let their population almost double,” Jackson said. They should be growing in a manner with a focus on intensification. I believe it is time for the city to grow up, not necessarily grow out.”

Innisfil has been agreeable to a deal that would see servicing extend south from Barrie to allow the town to develop its Hwy. 400 industrial corridor.
“I think Barrie’s response is not reasonable,” Jackson said. “It’s time we stand up. Taking a significant portion of lands away would cripple the town for future development.”

Jackson’s resolution calls for all Simcoe County municipalities, plus Barrie and Orillia, “to achieve a consensus based Area Wide Growth Plan for the entire County (that) needs to be recognized by the province as it considers the next steps.”

He also had words of criticism for Barrie Liberal MPP Aileen Carroll and her lobbying at Queen’s Park for a decision favouring Barrie’s interests over Innisfil’s and the County of Simcoe’s.
“MPP Aileen Carroll’s recent letter advancing her contention that efforts to find a local solution have been exhausted seems incongruent with the thoughts of Innisfil and the County of Simcoe,” Jackson stated in a subsequent press release. “I would hope that a provincial cabinet minister would consider the larger picture and not act only in the interest of her local riding.
“I think this is an important message to send to our residents and all residents of Simcoe County. We think the resolution (to the boundary issue) is coming in mid-June and we want people to understand the predicament we are in.”

Deputy Mayor Gord Wauchope noted, “Barrie was invited to attend all County Council meetings. Barrie refused to attend. A strong message has to be sent to Barrie and MPP Carroll that Innisfil is not going to give up. Barrie councillors should be talking to their constituents and their MPP. They’ll find out many of them don’t want Barrie to grow to 250,000 people.”

Coun. Bill Van Berkel added, “I sat on the negotiating team for two years and Barrie has shown ignorance towards us. We’re not just going to give up something that belongs to us.”
“Our staff has acted very professionally,” added Coun. Rod Boynton. “We’ve brought nothing but research and facts to the table. It was met with silence from Barrie.”

Jackson is holding out faint hope, though.
“We think it can still be resolved by discussion,” he said, “and we should have a voice in the final decision. We face a loss of identity, community and even the existence of the Town of Innisfil. We plan to grow and develop. The province should allow that to happen. I’d hate to see this municipality disappear off the County map.”

The Town of Innisfil has produced a website – www.fairgrowth.ca - to let citizens find out council’s perspective.
“We want everyone in Simcoe County to know what Barrie is up to,” Jackson said. “There is a lot of information on the website, a place to sign a petition and contact information for people to use if they want to let others know what they think.”