Barrie needs to be involved in Simcoe County’s growth process, the county heard Monday night.

“As a resident and taxpayer in Barrie … I’m looking for information about what Barrie is thinking. My concern is they will not attend these sessions and there will be a final report (about how the county will look in 25 years) and they will say Barrie was not considered,” said Myrna Wright, who attended the third of four community meetings about its growth steering process Monday night.

“This is supposed to be a collaborative process, and Barrie is at the epicentre in population and potential for jobs. This is tragic, that we don’t have better representation and communication.”

As part of Ontario’s plan to enhance development and growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe – the province’s economic engine – the province told Simcoe County to lead a growth steering process that will ultimately design how the area will grow over the next 25 years.

Issues under consideration include protecting the environment, containing sprawl and designating employment lands to increase the region’s competitiveness to attract higher-paying jobs.

County consultant Ray Simpson of Hemson Consulting told the public attending the open house, about 50 people, that county politicians must address how an additional 227,000 people will settle in the area over the next 25 years.

In refining the numbers, the difficulty comes with Barrie reaching build-out and no longer able to plan for additional housing units, he explained.

“The big elephant in the room is being here in Barrie tonight, figuring out the role of separated cities. In the county plan, the issue of annexation by Barrie of a portion of Innisfil continues to be under negotiation and is being chaired by the provincial development facilitator.

“This is pivotal to the whole growth plan, because it involves developing one of the major centres or limiting it and splitting up (the population projections).”

He added economic development is a municipal responsibility, but the planning process will focus on ensuring there’s marketable land.

“We are to ensure there is competitive land available in good locations, so it’s competitive with Mississauga, Vaughan and Newmarket,” Simpson said, adding that outer-ring municipalities traditionally struggle more than rings closer to the centre to get better-paying jobs.

“The stronger centres get stronger at the expense of outlying areas. It’s the pattern in most of the developing world today. You have depopulation and lack of development in local economies the farther out you go.”

He added that the province is focusing more of its growth on Waterloo-Wellington and Niagara, with the numbers for Simcoe County holding steady with traditional growth trends.

Even in Waterloo-Wellington, RIM’s operations are moving more towards Toronto, as the company has more employees outside its home region than inside it.

The sessions continue all week, with Thursday and Friday set aside for developers and Saturday for special-interest groups and organizations, such as school boards, conservation authorities and environmental groups.