There is no conflict with the city’s plan for the iPolitics Newsletter: Mayor Barrie

iPoliticsa news site with tenuous ties to Mayor Alex Nuttall, wants the City of Barrie’s help in launching a community news channel, including a print newsletter.

“We invite you to support the bringing Barrie Compass in your city where we can work together to keep your residents well informed and engaged,” says a May 29 memo on the city council circulation list. “We are seeking the city’s assistance in launching an inclusive community news outlet that will strive to connect (Barrie) residents and keep them informed.”

iPolitics editor Laura Pennell’s name is at the bottom of the memo.

On Thursday, Nuttall said this stemmed from concerns raised by city seniors and the accessibility advisory committee.

“Due to the absence of a print newspaper in Barrie, residents have reported a communication gap between the city and its citizens,” he said. “With a significant portion of Barrie’s senior population preferring print media over digital sources, there was a need to identify accessible and tangible information.

“Furthermore, the Council will not be involved in any negotiations with iPoliticsNuttall added. “Instead, city staff will provide content iPolitics as an advertising tool to promote city news, program updates and initiatives aimed at addressing the lack of local print media in our community.”

The mayor said the city will procure paid advertising, similar to advertising in other news stations throughout the community dating back to 2017, such as Barrie Today and Barrie Advance.

The City of Barrie’s This Week in Barrie portal continued Barrie Today — an affiliate of Bradford Today and InnisfilToday — from 18 October 2023 to 24 January 2024.

However, this is not the first time iPolitics was involved in Barrie politics.

In January, a survey by Mainstreet Research indicated that 73 percent of Barrie residents say the city has enough land supply to attract new investment from major industry, while 77 percent said local manufacturers should expand locally rather than moving elsewhere.

The survey was commissioned by iPoliticsan Ottawa news outlet.

The city issued a press release titled “New Poll Shows Majority of Barrie Area Residents Support Border Expansion.”

This came after Nuttall appeared before the province’s standing committee on heritage, infrastructure and cultural policy on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s regional government study on November 6, 2023, to make the case for expanding the Barrie boundary for industrial development – plans for a combined 2,200 hectares in the towns of Springwater and Oro-Medonte.

Barrie could provide 20,000 industrial, manufacturing and warehousing jobs over the next 20 years if a deal could be reached for the use of the surrounding land, Nuttall said.

But by mid-November, after Nuttall also made presentations to both town boards, Springwater council voted unanimously to end discussions with Barrie about the town’s proposed boundary adjustments and decided to send a letter to the ministry saying discussions on this topic have ended. The Oro-Medonte board, meanwhile, had said it was uncomfortable with Barrie’s request for the land.

Talks have since continued with provincial involvement, but there has been no resolution to the impasse.

Nuttall has ties to Brian Storseth, at one time co-owner of iPolitics. Both are former Conservative MPs — Nuttall for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte from 2015 to 2019, and Storseth for Westlock-St. Paul rode, from 2006 to 2015.

Storseth’s wife, Amel, worked as Nuttall’s assistant while he was a Member of Parliament.

Nuttall is the co-founder of Providing Instruments for Excellence Education (PIE), while Storseth is the co-founder of Progress for Mental Health, which has ties to PIE in the charity’s annual distribution of full schoolbags to disadvantaged youth recently in August. 11, 2023.

Barrie Today asked Nuttall if he had a conflict of interest with iPolitics.

“I have consulted with the integrity commissioner (Suzanne Craig) to make sure there are no issues associated with your questions,” he said. “She confirmed there was none.”

Storseth could not be reached for comment by Barrie Todayand it could not even be confirmed that he is still with iPolitics.

The city’s Finance and Responsible Government Committee approved a motion Wednesday night to have Access Barrie, the city’s communications arm, pursue a pilot project through June 2025 with iPolitics to include a This Week in Barrie ad in Barrie Compass to promote city programs, services and initiatives. City staff will report back to the commission by May 2025, providing details on the pilot project.

Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson also said he’s heard through the city’s seniors and accessibility advisory committee that Barrie residents have trouble knowing what’s going on in the city.

“So we’re trying to find a way to have a printed form that could be distributed as needed to see if we can reach more people and connect them and engage with the city,” he said.

Councilors have come under fire for the city’s communication to Barrie residents about plans for a synthetic turf, multi-purpose youth sports field and parade ground for the Sea Cadets and Navy League to be located east of Military Heritage Park along the waterfront.

Several hundred people rallied against the land plan and the process that led to it Wednesday night outside Barrie City Hall.

The council has also been criticized for passing a direct motion on May 17, 2023 on chronic homelessness and public safety measures, offering little or no opportunity for public feedback on its controversial measures, which include restrictions regarding handling. Direct motions bypass the town committee process, taking matters directly to the town council, and in this case, without notice.

Rebecca James-Reid, executive director of Access Barrie, said Wednesday her department will report on the level of success of the pilot project, and then council could decide to end it next June or continue it.

James-Reid said iPolitics is to have a weekly e-newsletter, the Barrie Compass.

“Then once a month, the newsletter would be printed and distributed at city facilities … grocery stores, that sort of thing, so people could pick them up in the community,” she said.

The city has $82,000 in its communications budget for this week in Barrie that could be used to pay for the newsletter.

“So that money is still in our budget. We’re not proposing any additional money,” said James-Reid, who said Wednesday she did not know how much the newsletter would cost, what its advertising rates would be or the size of the print publication.