Ormiston Families’ Post

🚨 Addressing the Concerns in Barrie's Park Safety Survey 🚨 Recently, the City of Barrie launched a survey on "Prioritizing Safety & Cleanliness in Parks and Public Spaces." As someone deeply engaged in local advocacy and public policy, I have significant concerns about the survey’s design and its impact on guiding policy decisions. Here are a few key issues: 1️⃣ Leading Questions: The survey pushes respondents toward negative perceptions, such as framing encampments as inherently problematic without offering the chance for balanced perspectives. This approach skews the data and fails to capture the complexity of the issue. 2️⃣ One-Sided View of Parks: The focus is solely on negative activities like drug use and panhandling, without acknowledging positive or neutral park uses. This presents a distorted picture of what happens in our public spaces, potentially inflating safety concerns. 3️⃣ Lack of Context for Informed Decisions: One question asks whether the City should appeal a court ruling on evicting encampments, but doesn’t provide any legal or ethical background on the ruling. Without the full context, how can residents offer informed opinions? 4️⃣ Oversimplifying Public Safety: Safety is not a one-size-fits-all issue. Yet, the survey asks residents to choose between "safe," "neutral," or "unsafe" without considering the nuanced ways in which people experience safety based on time, events, or personal circumstances. 5️⃣ Excluding Marginalized Voices: The survey doesn’t include the perspectives of encampment residents, which is crucial for an inclusive and ethical public consultation process. We need to ensure that all voices, especially those most affected, are heard. 💡 Why This Matters: Good public policy starts with good data. If we want policies that truly reflect the needs of our community, we must ensure that the ways we engage with residents are balanced, inclusive, and provide room for meaningful feedback. Barrie’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan commits to transparency and accountability—this survey should reflect those values. I encourage all Barrie residents to participate in this discussion. Fill out the survey, contact your city councillor, and support local organizations like BHHJN, Ryan’s Hope, Barrie Encampment Support Network, and the Busby Centre. Public engagement is key to building a healthier, safer community. Link to the survey: https://lnkd.in/gbtG--rX. #PublicEngagement #Barrie #EthicalConsultation #PublicPolicy #CommunityDevelopment #CivicEngagement