Springwater council bogged down by legal opinions around Barrie boundary talks
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Oct 16, 2025
On a night when a decision on Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal was supposed to take place, Springwater Township council opted to get more information before it made a commitment, one way or the other.
After almost two years of reports, analysis, peer reviews and legal opinions, Springwater council voted Wednesday night to have staff compile yet another report, as proposed in a referral by Coun. Anita Moore, who said the township was in a “precarious situation” based on advice it received from law firm Loopstra Nixon LLP.
She referred to the law firm’s opinion on the use of strong mayor powers that was posted to the township’s website at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, about 10 minutes before the council meeting started.
“Important to me is that I go on the public record with concerns about our legal opinions that we received today,” said Moore. “Because should we find ourselves in a situation that we are exposed or in jeopardy, that is a very, very costly process for this township and I am not in support of putting ourselves in a place where we are going to spend millions on a potential either judicial review that takes forever, or two lawyers duking it out and judge finally make a decision.
“I don’t know, but I do want to say that I’m not in favour of putting ourselves in a situation where we are exposed,” she added.
The township also received a legal opinion from Alex Lusty, a lawyer with Davies Howe, representing the Midhurst Landowner’s Group.
“The strong mayors powers are an extraordinary power,” he wrote. “The Municipal Act and O. Reg 580/22, far from providing limited guidance, express the range of permissible actions a mayor can take.
“Given the extraordinary nature of these powers the province intended to place limits on them by enumerating the objectives and providing limits on their use,” Lusty added. “New powers should not be read into the legislation, and the existing limits should be respected.”
Moore’s referral calls for staff to “engage” with Loopstra Nixon LLP to provide advice regarding the possibility of initiating a judicial review of the City of Barrie’s boundary adjustment process and report back to council at a special meeting to be held the week of Oct. 20-24.
Further, township staff have been asked to request Hemson’s technical data for peer review, and that the municipality continues to work collaboratively with the County of Simcoe.
Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin was visibly frustrated.
She noted the township had received five legal opinions prior to Wednesday’s council meeting, including one from John Mascarin, a lawyer with Aird Berlis, who provided Springwater council with an overview of strong mayor powers shortly after the new measures were installed by Premier Doug Ford on May 1.
“It is our opinion that the mayor’s powers under Part VI.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001 could be exercised in relation to Barrie’s restructuring proposal,” Mascarin wrote in his conclusion. “We believe there is a reasonable connection between the proposal to extend municipal water and wastewater servicing to certain lands within the township and at least one of the prescribed provincial priorities, being constructing infrastructure to support housing.”
Another legal opinion, provided by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, requested by 2252841 Ontario Inc. (Paul Sadlon), said “the exercise of strong mayor powers in connection with the proposal would be reasonable.”
The Fasken opinion added that, “arguments against the availability of the strong mayor powers fail to give due weight to the liberal and discretionary language conferring those powers
This includes the power to propose a bylaw and enact it with a one-third vote of council may be exercised whenever the mayor is of the opinion that a bylaw “could potentially advance” a provincial priority.
“In other words, it is not necessary that the mayor be certain that the anticipated residential development will, in fact, occur as a consequence of the bylaw. A mere possibility of such development, and a reasonable belief in that possibility, are sufficient,” Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP stated.
A third legal opinion that supported using strong mayor powers was delivered by David Bronskill, a lawyer with Goodmans LLP, which was requested by Lonybra Developments.
“It is reasonable and permissible for the mayor to use the strong mayor powers in respect of the proposed boundary adjustment,” Bronskill wrote.
Coughlin said she understands how difficult it is to make a decision on the matter, but that’s what council was elected to do.
“I understand that we may want to do anything we possibly can to avoid having to make the decision that we’ve been asked to make tonight,” she said. “We know what we need to do and we know that this is being asked of us to make this decision.
“The province has not given us that opportunity,” Coughlin added.
She asked rhetorically what other information council wanted and answered before anyone else could respond.
“We have the information, we know what the information is and the information is not going to change,” Coughlin said. “What’s going to change is legal opinions and when we don’t like that one, we’ll get another. We have them.”
She said doing nothing tells the province that Springwater Township has the “inability to make a decision.”
And Coughlin is concerned about the repercussions.
“That is the message that I feel we are sending to the province and it is my fear that the province absolutely will look to this as a non-decision,” she said, “and that decision will be made for us.”
Springwater mayor defends integrity amid boundary map dispute
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Oct 17, 2025
When Springwater Deputy Mayor George Cabral called for an investigation into how and when various parcels of township land were considered through the proposed City of Barrie boundary adjustment, he said he was doing so in an effort to “provide clarity and transparency” to local residents.
He contended Springwater council had “absolutely no knowledge of, involvement in, nor did it provide any direction regarding any boundary adjustment mapping.”
According to Cabral’s motion, organized boundary adjustment meetings in early 2023 between officials from Barrie, Springwater and the Township of Oro-Medonte were taking place without the knowledge or direction of Springwater council, and well before strong mayor powers were granted to the two local townships.
When the report’s findings were delivered at the township’s council meeting on Wednesday, in which the township’s IT team found no evidence to indicate municipal staff offered or authorized any additional land to be included in the boundary adjustment mapping with the City of Barrie, Cabral didn’t hold the item for discussion.
Typically, a report requested through a motion is discussed by council so it can be informed before making next steps, if necessary.
Seeing Cabral had no intention of pulling the report he initiated, Mayor Jennifer Coughlin did, apparently eager to share its results.
“I just have one comment and that is that I’m satisfied with the results,” she said before urging the public to read the report for themselves.
When the report was requested at the Sept. 3 council meeting, Coughlin considered the investigation “a personal attack.”
Her reasoning was straightforward: if, as Cabral contended, council had no role or provided no direction, then that direction must have come from the mayor.
“In my opinion, this is nothing more than a personal attack and a personal vendetta,” she said at the time. “I am tired of sitting at this table and having my integrity, my process, my goodwill, my oath of office be questioned.”
Coughlin agreed that residents have the right to the truth, but not at the expense of the taxpayer.
She made Cabral an offer.
“Let’s do a forensic audit, but when the report comes back and it says that I’ve done something wrong, I’ll pay for it,” the mayor said at the time.
“But when it comes back and proves again, just like the FOIs (freedom-of-information requests), just like the integrity commissioner reports, just like everything else that has been put forward and against me and comes up clean because there’s nothing to find, you pay for it — not the taxpayers,” Coughlin added.
Wednesday night she called on Cabral to address the report findings.
“None of the maps were created in Springwater Township, so it kind of indicated to me that they came from somewhere else and if staff aren’t able to determine where they came from, then they’ve done what they can,” he said. “And that’s it.”
Coun. Brad Thompson voted against the motion originally, as he considered it a waste of staff’s time and taxpayer money.
He echoed those sentiments again Wednesday night.
“The report concludes there was no financial consequences to the township for the report, but I see, whenever we use staff for these silly little reports and audits there is a cost to the township,” he said. “It’s something about nothing and hopefully we can do better in the future.”
Barrie city council recently endorsed a plan to annex almost 2,150 total acres from Springwater and Oro-Medonte, for employment and residential purposes, in a boundary restructuring deal that would cost the city nearly $39 million by 2030.
Major local developer says Barrie doesn’t need industrial land
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Oct 16, 2025
About 90 per cent of the people who spoke at Oro-Medonte Township’s public meeting on Barrie’s proposed boundary expansion Wednesday night were against it.
The only voice in favour, and it was somewhat conditional, was Oro-Medonte resident and local developer Steve Sperling.
Sperling, who says he’s developed more than three million square feet of industrial/commercial land in the Barrie area and more than 1.5 million square feet south of the city, acknowledged there is a “tremendous need for housing today.”
“If you drive along old Penetanguishene Road and you look at one side of the street, it’s got sidewalks and curbs,” he said. “And the Oro side hasn’t been developed. It’s waiting to be developed.
“The City of Barrie is on the other side of that curb, so as far as I’m concerned, I think we should be looking towards annexation,” Sperling added.
He quickly added that he was not in favour of the industrial component, though, simply because he says Barrie has enough industrial land right now.
“Barrie is sitting with a lot more industrial land that is raw, ready to be developed, than what they’re coming forward with,” Sperling said at the meeting. “So, I don’t understand the whole industrial approach that they’ve taken.”
Sperling said he has 13 acres of property at Salem and Veteran roads that could be developed right now. Across the road are 150 acres more that could be developed, he added. So he doesn’t think Barrie needs more industrial land.
“I think there’s a need for schools, affordable housing and seniors development,” he said.
Yvonne Klima has lived in Oro-Medonte for the past 32 years and she agrees with Sperling. The area identified for annexation should be void of industry, she said.
Klima attended the public meeting to speak for “the creatures great and small who are not represented.”
She’s concerned about what impact annexation and subsequent development will have on animals that live in the environmentally protected area included in Barrie’s boundary expansion plan.
She said it’s home to 25 to 30 mammal species, 100 species of birds (both migratory and year-round), 15 to 25 species of amphibians and more than 200 different plants, mosses, lichens and fungi. Any industry in the area would be disastrous, Klima said.
“Factories have 24/7 bright industrial lighting that would disturb and destroy any nesting and mating for all creatures,” she said. “It confuses their biological clocks. There’s a constant hum and drone from rooftop HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) machinery and loud noises that confuses all species and adds extreme stress to their lives.
“All of this is highly detrimental to the creatures living in the sensitive, adjacent fields, forests and wetlands,” Klima added.
Greg Harris stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Klima. He said he attended the public meeting the City of Barrie held on Sept. 29 and was concerned with the fate of the area. He contends that if the land is transferred to Barrie, the city will eventually do whatever it wants with it.
Greg Wood has lived in Oro-Medonte for 26 years, and while he isn’t an advocate for annexation, he wants to ensure that if it does happen, the township and its residents are protected. He said a number of conditions must be added to the agreement before it is signed and it must be binding.
Wood’s conditions include:
A minimum 75-metre green buffer zone between developed areas and existing residential lot lines
A 30-year moratorium on any additional annexation of land from Oro-Medonte
The City of Barrie would agree not to seek connection to Colborne Street as it would create traffic issues
If current environmentally protected land is developed, the City of Barrie agrees to pay full compensation to Oro-Medonte.
“I’m not a lawyer, but I would suggest some kind of revenue clause outlining specific remuneration awards financially to Oro-Medonte in the event of a breach of any of these conditions,” he said.
“I think these amendments I put forth are reasonable and if they aren’t accepted by the City of Barrie, then the agreement should be declined,” Wood added.
Oro-Medonte council will consider Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal at its next meeting on Oct. 22 starting at 3 p.m.
Springwater council chambers packed as Barrie annexation debate heats up
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Oct 9, 2025
It’s not often the Springwater Township council chamber is standing room only.
Typically, there are a few people who are there because there’s an item on the agenda that either affects them personally or has township-wide implications.
Last night’s public meeting to discuss Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal, or annexation, hit both targets dead centre.
Of the almost 200 people who packed the township’s administration centre, more than two dozen of them — individual residents of Springwater and Oro-Medonte townships, and a number of developers who have land in the affected areas — addressed council, some looking for answers to questions they feel have not been addressed, and others looking to offer support to get annexation done.
A big concern for some was the process, or what they say is a lack thereof.
The first person to diss the process was the opening speaker, Alex Lusty, a lawyer from Davies Howe, representing the Midhurst Landowners Group.
“This group opposes the annexation because there is no need for it. Springwater will be ready in time to accommodate growth and this annexation process is inherently flawed,” he offered from the outset.
Last December, Lusty said, it was concluded from the Hemson report that Barrie has enough employment land to 2051 and annexation would not help the city meet its short-term gap.
“That fact does not support annexation,” he said.
Lusty noted this summer the timeline was extended from 2051 to 2061, though the reasons for it have not been made clear.
“The theory is that, by then, 300 hectares of employment land might be needed for Barrie,” he said. “Much is uncertain from now until 2061, but one thing’s for sure — there’s no rush at all for this annexation.”
Putting the brakes on all boundary talks was an idea that earned traction from a large portion of the anti-annexation crowd in attendance last night.
David Strong, of Midhurst, said he didn’t appreciate the urgency of rushing everybody through the process.
“People here haven’t had a chance to say what they think,” he said. “I think they should have a lot longer to consider what’s going on.”
Not everyone agreed.
Paul Sadlon Jr. said the annexation couldn’t happen fast enough. His family has a proposed development slated for 742 Bayfield St. N., just beyond Barrie’s northern boundary.
The proposal, which includes 2,000 residential units in a variety of formats, including single-detached, semi-detached, townhouses and tiny homes, mixed-use medical, commercial and retail space, as well as recreational areas, was originally supported by Springwater council in December 2023.
In July, council pulled its support of the project because the developer wanted cross-border servicing with Barrie.
As part of the annexation proposal that was delivered to the township last week, the City of Barrie would provide water and wastewater servicing to the Sadlon development and another one across the street, proposed by the Remington Group.
“Over the past two years, we’ve hired consultants and engineers to study every servicing option and every one of them came to the same conclusion — the most efficient, timely and cost-effective way to service this land is through Barrie,” Sadlon told council.
“It’s a practical solution and it works for both municipalities,” he added.
Additionally, Sadlon said, if the project goes ahead, it will result in the first high school in the township’s southern district.
“The school board has made it clear that their needs are immediate and the only way we can make this happen is with servicing from Barrie,” he said. “Without it, the school can’t move forward.”
James Sheldon spoke on behalf of the Remington Group, a developer that sought council’s support for a seniors’ continuum of care, including long-term care facilities, retirement residences, a palliative and hospice care centre, life-lease building and medical offices that would create about 300 jobs at 727 Bayfield St. N., across the street from Sadlon’s proposal.
Like the Sadlon property, Springwater council supported it initially in 2023 and then pulled its support this past summer because the developer wanted to have water and wastewater service from Barrie.
Sheldon said the Remington Group has done exhaustive reviews and consulted with numerous engineering firms and the conclusion remains the same — the preferred solution is for the City of Barrie to provide both water and sanitary services.
“Barrie is simpler, more cost effective and quicker,” Sheldon said. “It only requires extensions to linear infrastructure as opposed to water and wastewater treatment plant upgrades if servicing were to go through Midhurst.”
He added servicing through a Midhurst water and wastewater treatment facility is “neither a financially viable nor time-certain option,” both of which are crucial to advance the project.
Springwater resident Mike Douglas said he sees both sides of the issue. He acknowledged there were people who are totally opposed to annexation and others who are in favour.
He said he understands why they’re anxious and angry. He called for calm and urged people to fully understand how the province works, in his opinion.
Douglas said any outcome is going to harm some and benefit others.
“Municipalities in Ontario have much less autonomy than many of us think and definitely much less autonomy than many of us would like to have,” he said. “The province could simply mandate a decision here and we’d all be forced to live with it.”
Douglas thinks the township should get as much as it can.
“My perspective is this annexation is happening, by default or design,” he said. “I say let’s milk this. Let’s do it strategically and let’s do it wisely and let’s get as much as we possibly can.”
The City of Barrie, the townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte, the County of Simcoe and the province still need to agree to the deal — which would see Barrie pay its neighbours $15,000 per developable acre, or more than $33 million in total (about $22 million to Springwater), the county $5 million for regional economic development initiatives, and Springwater another $850,000, also related to economic development initiatives.
Springwater council will vote on the final offer from the City of Barrie during its Oct. 15 meeting.
The County of Simcoe will host a public meeting on Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal on Oct. 14 at 10 a.m. at the County of Simcoe Administration Centre in Midhurst.
Oro-Medonte Township will host a public meeting on Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.
Township of Springwater Officially Unveils Commemorative Crosswalk in Honour of Veterans
Township of Springwater / October 16, 2025 – The Township of Springwater Mayor and Council, representatives from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 262, and Elmvale Business Improvement Area (BIA) gathered, to unveil Springwater’s new commemorative crosswalk in honour of veterans, located on Maria Street at the intersection of Queen Street West in Elmvale.
The crosswalk features a design that includes bilingual stencilled messages, two large red maple leaf symbols, and a ladder-style crosswalk configuration. This design was carefully selected to embody national themes of remembrance and adheres to the Royal Canadian Legion’s design standards to honour and commemorate the contributions of Canadian veterans.
The initiative stems from a Council-approved motion on November 6, 2024, which directed the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk honouring our veterans, in time for Remembrance Day 2025.
Mayor Coughlin stated, “This commemorative crosswalk is a meaningful addition to the community. It stands as a daily reminder of the courage and selflessness of our veterans and reflects our community’s respect for their service.”
The Elmvale Legion’s President, Graham Simmonds, added, “The Elmvale Legion is honoured to see this crosswalk serve as a lasting tribute. This commemorative crosswalk is a testament to our enduring respect for veterans and their invaluable contributions. It serves as both a daily reflection point and a symbol of our commitment to honoring their legacy.”