Every Saturday hundreds of people have been gathering in downtown Barrie at Meridian Place. What began as local businesses protesting certain lockdown measures has shifted to "freedom" protests. Maskless protestors have made it unsafe to be and shop downtown - as many of our business owners have stated. These protests are doing damage to the downtown businesses but also making the spread of the COVID virus and particularly its more contagious and dangerous variants more probable. Our healthcare systems are already at their maximum. These protestors clearly do not care about the health of our community. We call on the Barrie City Council to work with the Barrie Police to ensure these events are shut down and that the people breaking the law are properly sanctioned. Education clearly has not worked. It's time for enforcement.