Research and fairness standards

These rules apply to every candidate, every update and every contributor. They are also published on the site.

Fairness rules

1. Same method for everyone. Every candidate is researched with the same method and to the same depth.
2. Equal presentation. Candidates are listed alphabetically by last name, with an identical card layout.
3. Their words, our paraphrase. Positions are paraphrased from the candidate’s own statements, and every position has a source.
4. No gaps, no guessing. Where a candidate has not stated a position, we show “No stated position found.” Where no public record items meet the rules below, we show “No items found.”
5. Public record is fact only. It is limited to verifiable facts from at least 2 reputable sources, with the candidate’s response where one exists.
6. No opinions. No endorsements, ratings, scores or pro/con labels.
7. Open corrections. Errors are corrected quickly and logged publicly.

Public record rules

Included:

• Integrity commissioner findings and code-of-conduct rulings
• Court decisions and campaign finance rulings
• Key council votes and official decisions (for example, emergency declarations or uses of strong-mayor powers)
• Significant events reported by at least 2 reputable outlets

Excluded:

• Allegations that were never confirmed, and rumours
• Social media disputes
• Personal or family matters unrelated to public office
• Anything sourced only to opinion pieces or a single blog

Items are written in a factual tone, with a date and a source.

Note: incumbents naturally have a longer public record than first-time candidates. A longer record does not mean a candidate has done anything wrong.

Sources

• Preferred sources: official City of Barrie records, candidates’ own websites and statements, and established local news outlets.
• Each source is recorded with its title, outlet, URL and the date it was accessed.
• Where we found a source through BarrieVotes.ca and have not yet read it ourselves, the Sources page marks it “Found via BarrieVotes.ca”.
• Candidates’ social media counts only from official campaign pages listed with the City of Barrie. Posts by other people, comments and shared content are not used.

Candidates who want something added

Any candidate can point us to a statement they have published on an official channel: their campaign website or a campaign page listed with the City. We read the original, cite it directly and apply the same rules as for every other source. A message to us is not itself a source; the published statement is. Every candidate has the same opportunity.

To send a link, or to report an error anywhere in the guide, email tenonic@gmail.com.

Data entry

• Positions record status as stated or none_found.
• Fact-check context (for example, city figures that differ from a candidate’s claim) goes in the note column, never in the candidate’s summary. Each note has its own sources, separate from the sources for the candidate’s position.