Mayor of Barrie, Ont., declares state of emergency to address safety at homeless encampments

The mayor of Barrie, Ont., declared a state of emergency over homeless encampments in the city Tuesday, citing concerns about public safety as a justification for the decision.

Alex Nuttall said in the announcement that the residents of Barrie, a city of nearly 150,000 people north of Toronto, “have had enough” of what he described as “lawlessness.”