Barrie has taken a tentative step in a very important direction. It’s a stride forward for the leadership-challenged council of this community.

The issue was growth in the county over the next 25 years. The forum was a county committee. The participants included the county’s Growth Process Steering Committee, Mayor Dave Aspden and Coun. Mike Ramsay.

So what, you might say. Who else would you expect to be in the same room discussing Simcoe County growth issues?

Well, until this meeting not Aspden or Ramsay or anyone else from the city. Mayor Ron Stevens of Orillia has been sitting in on the discussions. Barrie, however, had declined an earlier invitation to participate, preferring to go one-on-one with Innisfil to discuss boundary change.

That strategy has seemingly collapsed following the termination of boundary-change negotiations between the two communities.

But even if the talks had been successful, and they may be restarted at some later date, Barrie should have been at the county’s growth table from the start.

There are huge growth issues facing Barrie and the rest of the county that require a comprehensive, united approach. If the region doesn’t get its act together, it faces a governance solution imposed by the province, if Queen’s Park loses patience with the pace of finding local solutions to growth.

That may not be to Barrie’s liking if the province decides the county is the logical provider of regional governance.

The province has identified Simcoe County, and specifically Barrie, as a ‘place to grow.’ The county’s own IGAP reports says much of the growth coming to the county will be in the Barrie/Innisfil area.

It’s expected that by 2031, 228,700 more people will call this area home. Barrie is already morphing into a significant urban area, increasingly being referred to as the GBA – Greater Barrie Area.

Among other issues, the province wants to know how available land will be developed and serviced, and how the region is preparing for the coming growth.

Officially, the city is sitting at the table as an observer, but its participation may develop. The issue will be on the agenda when council resumes in August.

The current council has been criticized as having a leadership void, a complaint acknowledged by some councillors. Indeed, much of the action in Barrie is connected to decisions taken by the previous council.

Recently, The Advance’s Laurie Watt wrote a comprehensive piece on revitalization of the downtown core. All of the initiatives discussed are connected to previous councils.

The potential of becoming a full partner in regional growth discussions affords this council a splendid opportunity to take a leadership role in a process of vital importance to this city.