The Mayor of Cobourg Lucas Cleveland has erupted in another hissy-fit in his reading of the newly released Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Read his statement here. He is objecting to the realistic view that some activity by the villains in the game – the unhoused and indigent amongst us have been using the Parks system as a space for personal use. The fact that this use and some recommendations to accommodate them and their usage sent Mayor Cleveland into apoplexy and an obvious angry reaction. Driven by his hard-line ‘enablers’ who will tolerate no other solution than the ‘final solution’ – eviction from Cobourg, he was quick to respond.

His opening paragraphs of a three page statement says – “By now many of you may have seen or heard the disturbing language embedded in the so-called proposed Parks Master Plan. I have received countless emails and phone calls from concerned citizens and rightfully so”  going on to say “The following appears on page 61 of the proposed Cobourg Master Parks Plan, verbatim: “While this Plan does not view encampments as a long-term solution to houselessness, it affirms access to housing as a fundamental human right.””

BUT while the report does mention encampments, it does not make any mention of encampments in the Parks System, but does talk about the need for public safety measures as a consequence of illegal and personal drug use in the Parks.

• The plan explicitly recommends:
  “Installing safe syringe disposal bins in parks, a practice already used successfully in public libraries, is a proven way to handle drug paraphernalia.”
  Specific locations recommended: Victoria Park, Victoria Beach, Ecology Garden.
• From the Mayor’s statement not the Plan:

The plan also recommends holding “regular meetings between municipal staff, local police, Public Health, and unhoused advocates” to keep the plan adaptive to real-time shifts in park usage —potentially disastrously embedding advocacy groups into the ongoing governance of Cobourg’s parks.

So the Mayor, who is making public safety the cornerstone of his yet to announced election campaign is  ignoring recommended public safety measures in the plan!

The situation does not end there. By the end of the day Staff, (who can be fired at-will with the Mayor’s SMP) in the Community Services Division issued a “Cover Your Arse” statement (read it here) that admitted mistakes and omissions had been made:

• Staff have raised concerns around missing elements in the current draft plan regarding the Waterfront Nature Park and the integration of the Waterfront User Needs Assessment and Detailed Design plan.
• Staff have also identified a need to revise the language around public health and safety to ensure it is more reflective of the Town of Cobourg.

Two conclusions have been drawn by the BurdReport:

• One is the the Mayor of Cobourg may not agree that “Housing is a Human Right”
• Two he is driven by his ‘enablers’, those people who mainly reside in the comment section of the Cobourg News, to take extreme action and use extreme language against the unhoused and idigent.

Stay tuned the election campaign will only get murkier