As Canada pours renewed attention into military readiness and domestic manufacturing, the City of Barrie is making a pitch to become part of the country’s defence supply chain: not with tanks or weapons systems, but with zoning bylaws, tax breaks and faster municipal approvals.
At the CANSEC defence conference in Ottawa this Thursday, Mayor Alex Nuttall announced a new directive aimed at transforming Barrie into a destination for defence, aerospace and security manufacturers.
“We’ve been working for the last year to position the city of Barrie as a focal point for investment by the defence industry,” Nuttall said in an interview with QPB on Thursday. “There’s been tons happening on the federal level and provincial level behind the curtain, if you will, and that’s starting to come into public view as decisions are made and companies are starting to invest.”