As Mayor of Cobourg, my concerns regarding the encampment and plans regarding 310 Division are more than valid. The sale of the former Brookside Youth Detention Centre, current home of the Cobourg based encampment, will result in it soon becoming private property. This means, in a matter of weeks, all those currently inhabiting this site will be removed. There are no protections for private property under any "Waterloo" judicial decisions, despite any advocate's claims to the contrary. Private property is just that -- private.
310 Division has been promoted as a panacea for our current homeless crisis in Cobourg. I supported 310 Division as one tool in the proverbial tool shed but it is very far from resolving these issues. I have stated clearly numerous times that Cobourg and its Council are not now or ever going to be responsible for any form of social service type funding, or certainly, delivery. These issues are at the feet of three senior levels of government: Federal, Provincial, and County. They have the mandates, the financial resources, and the staffing expertise. Cobourg, as a municipal level of government, does not.
With the shocking and disturbing violent events that occurred just last week in Kingston at their encampment, my concerns for the safety of Cobourg's citizens only grows. I firmly believe it is a matter of time before similar actions occur here in Cobourg. Kingston's nightmare events will not be isolated.
As Mayor of Cobourg and as a County Councillor, I have asked for a detailed plan from the County as to what their intentions are for those who refuse to go to 310 Division. The County staff are certainly aware that Cobourg, as a community, has a zero-tolerance policy for those who attempt to encamp on property under the auspices of the town.
I fully realize there is no magic wand to cure homelessness, illegal drug activity, or serious mental health issues. However, as a small urban/rural centre, we also cannot allow a very tiny segment of the population, regardless of their issues, to hold us hostage. The rule of law in any civil society is the very cornerstone, the very bedrock of what separates us from barbaric behaviours. No one can be allowed, no matter what their personal history is, to impinge upon the safety and sanctity of their fellow citizens.
I am deeply disappointed in the hostility I have faced personally at the County level in my advocacy for Cobourg on this most critical issue. Cobourg has borne the full brunt of the issues around illegal drug use, homelessness, criminal, and other issues that these matters inherently cause. I, along with my fellow Cobourg Councillors, have received hundreds and hundreds of emails, phone calls, and personal face-to-face communications raising our citizens' genuine concerns, for months. They are angry and scared and have every right to be.
I have no doubt that the encampment, homelessness, and illegal drug activity will be the single defining moment for the vast majority of Cobourg voters in the next municipal election.
I have ruminated on the idea that we may need to consider all options regarding Cobourg's involvement with the current County structure. I truly believe that we cannot have a group of individuals, who represent almost exclusively rural areas with vastly smaller populations than Cobourg, dictating or driving agendas that are in no way for the benefit of our local community. Cobourg cannot continue to be the sole centre of social service activity for the entire area. I want to see a plan that disperses this across the County to ensure that we share this burden equally wherever possible. It is easy to make decisions and to live with those decisions when you are completely removed from them and in no way directly answerable to the citizens being personally impacted by them.
I have and will continue to press my concerns on these issues to the Provincial government, to seek credible solutions to those who ultimately have the final authority in these matters and decisions.
Lucas Cleveland
Mayor
Town of Cobourg