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.

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