Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland has issued a statement to clarify comments he made a the Community Services, Protection, and Economic Development Standing Committee meeting on September 4, 2024 following a presentation on the Brookside encampment.
At the time, one of Cleveland’s comments was, “If we want to actually fix, or at least put us on the path to fixing 90 percent of the issues we face in this community, what we need to do is either adjust our relationship within the Northumberland county organization so we have better opportunities to make decisions for our own town or we need to look at separating from the county.”
For clarity’s sake, his comments at the meeting resulted in no decisions on the subject at that meeting, but they’ve triggered a lot of conversation in the community and Cleveland promised to issue a statement, in response to interview inquires, clarifying his position on Monday, after which the town said he’d be available for media interviews. Interview requests have gone unanswered.
The statement was issued last night and is provided unedited below:
“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.”
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
