Yesterday-June 18th 2026 a group of local Social Agencies issued a statement about the Mayor’s recent statement about the wording in the newly released Park & Rec. Master Plan.

The Mayor has been true to form in advocating against any form of Cobourg Delivered Social Services for the unhoused, mentally ill, drug addicts and the indigent. Insisting that the County is responsible his approach has been one of eradication of the problem by punitive actions from the Cobourg Fire Services, Bylaw Enforcement and the Building Department. His latest effort is to interpret a section in the P&R master plan, where it describes how the Parks might be managed with the current and future problems of the unhoused and drug users in mind, by conducting a campaign that suggests the language in the report encourages drug use and encampments. The offending paragraph (on page 61) states that “Housing is a Human Right” and drug paraphernalia problems in the Parks should be mitigated by ‘cleanup measures’.

Predictably his ‘enablers jumped on his statement  and demanded that the wording be stricken and that “Housing is not a Human Right” but one that should be conditioned. This has prompted the local coalition of Agencies to issue a rebuttal and a clear statement as to why they think the Mayor and his enablers are wrong. 

The statement is here

It is powerful, plain and true! Of course it will be immediately disregarded and  excoriated by the “enablers” who want nothing less than the eradication of the problem by the removal and dispersion of the humans who fall into many of the categories that these people have labelled them by. Where they should be placed is not any of their concern – “Just get them out of Cobourg – I want my Town back!”

A few selected quotes form the statement:

• “You describe the phrase “housing is a human right” as inflammatory and ideological. We must respectfully but firmly correct that characterization.”
• “When a person cannot access a shelter, they do not disappear. They sleep somewhere. For many of our unhoused neighbours, that somewhere is a park. The Parks Master Plan acknowledges this reality honestly. You have criticized it for doing so. But a plan that ignores where vulnerable people actually are is not a plan – it is a wish.”
• “Safe syringe disposal bins are a public health measure – recommended by public health agencies, used successfully across  Ontario, and designed to protect everyone who uses parks, including children. Their presence does not encourage drug use. It reduces the risk of discarded needles in public spaces. If your goal is safer parks, this measure serves that goal. Opposing it on ideological grounds means accepting more needles on the ground in Victoria Park.”
• “We are asking Council to adopt a parks plan that honestly reflects the community it serves – all of it.”

We at the BR encourage all to read this statement and then join the debate about how we deal with the unhoused and indigents – because they exist and will not go away under the present social conditions here in Cobourg.