Consider This Northumberland

A group of unsheltered people recently moved from Cobourg’s West Beach to a county-owned building at 600 William Street.

While this may resolve some tensions between those living in tents and the public, it has created a challenge for Northumberland County officials.

In this interview, you will hear how the county’s administration and social services staff respond to this new encampment at the ambulance centre and economic development offices at the old Kraft building.

County CAO Jennifer Moore and Social Services Director Lisa Horne will explain in detail what is being done and what is unfolding at the site.

It is a cliché to say lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for. Yet, for Tony Jenkins, it could be his motto. Jenkins hopes to convince the Ontario Land Tribunal and anyone else not to grant a demolition permit to Southbridge. The developer wants to remove several heritage buildings from its Ward Street property. In June, it received a Minister's Zoning Order, or an MZO, allowing it to build a seven-storey, 192-bed long-term care home on the site.

Port Hope council denied a demolition application at the end of June. Since then, Southbridge has filed with the Ontario Land Tribunal for a hearing.

Jenkins hopes to preserve the old Port Hope hospital, one of several ancient buildings on the property.

In this interview, you will hear from Jenkins and Dan Schneider, a provincial expert on cultural heritage policy. Jenkins acknowledges it is a David and Goliath battle. In 2022, the Ontario Land Tribunal has sided with developers 97 percent of the time.

A quick note: Dan Schneider's speech may be difficult to understand at first. But, what he had to say was sufficiently significant to be included in this podcast.

Earlier this week, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf presented his annual report for the past year to town council. Many statistics were up.

The number of calls, crime rate, reported crimes, mental health calls, drug poisonings, overdoses, break, and enters all increased. The number of complaints against police was down, as were the times when officers used force.

But things have changed in other ways. More public meetings were called to answer the public’s concerns around the downtown and Battell Street neighbourhood. Also, a recent police investigation into a stabbing led to the Cobourg Safety Panel, a multi-agency body, being called in to close homes for unsafe conditions.

So, how are things really going for the Cobourg Police Force?

In this interview, the chief will explain many of the stats in the report, along with some of the shortcomings. He will also tackle the ongoing issue of drugs in Cobourg. And you will find out what kind of job he does on that front.

In the main hall in the Cobourg Best Western, Mike and Ingrid Aird are sitting at a table, taking notes. They listen intently to an expert panel talk about protecting farmland in Northumberland County.

They care deeply. The future of agriculture is vital to the family’s farm located on Community Centre Road just east of Baltimore. They own what is called a farm-to-table operation. That means they raise beef, chickens, and turkeys, which they sell in a retail store on their property. They also sell eggs and other specialty items. Their approach is unique, based on organic, sustainable methods that break many of the traditional norms.

In this interview, you will hear about their farming practice. But more importantly, you will listen to their concerns and why they were so interested in what the expert panel said about saving farmland in the county.

A group of community leaders gathered one Saturday morning in Cobourg to hear a speaker from Ireland talk about creating a sustainable community.

Cormac Russell is a highly regarded expert in helping organizations and citizens build stronger communities. Russell has given multiple TED Talks and is recognized worldwide within the ranks of bureaucracies, politics, and citizen groups.

Representatives from Northumberland County, Northumberland Hills Hospital, churches, social agencies, and chambers of commerce, plus community groups, listened intently to his message.

In this interview, Russell and his Canadian colleague John Massimi will share what they said at the event. In light of the recent number of public meetings where residents are expressing their frustrations, Russell’s words are even more poignant.

County council accepted a report telling them local taxpayers are contributing up to 75 percent of the costs associated with housing programs. Ontario is the only province that has downloaded those costs. Some of the numbers are alarming.

Rebecca Carman, housing services manager for Northumberland County, will explain what is going on and why. She will also outline the steps she and her fellow manager across Ontario to lobby the government to change things.

While affordable housing remains a priority for all levels of government, recently, two important steps were taken locally. County council is creating a municipal body to build workforce housing. 

In this interview, you will hear the details explaining plans to build workforce housing and why affordable housing efforts are not cutting it.

Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland and CAO Tracy Vaughan recently returned from a trip to India. The mayor participated in a panel at the U20 conference. It is a gathering of mayors from around the world. They set priorities about issues at the municipal level and pass them on to the G20 global leaders for action. It is pretty prestigious since only three mayors are chosen from across Canada.

For some, there is a fundamental question. What benefit does this trip have for residents in Cobourg and Northumberland County?

In this interview, Cleveland will answer many other questions about the trip, including the cost and who pays. (As a bonus, he will also explain the cost of several courses he has recently taken as well.) The mayor will make his case for initiatives to raise the international profile of the town.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce recently released a report calling on all three levels of government to tackle the Affordable Housing Crisis. Some people might wonder why a business organization is producing housing reports.

Port Hope Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Brenda Whitehead will dive into that mystery in this interview. It has a lot to do with workers being unable to live in the communities where they work. This was not an issue in the past because people were expected to commute to jobs. Now, nowhere is cheap to live, and it is expensive to commute. So, communities must create housing where people can once again live and work. This is only one of a host of other issues raised by the chamber.

You will also learn about some initiatives in Port Hope to address workforce development and other projects meant to deal with issues raised by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

For those who may be triggered, the following interview talks about suicide and sexual abuse. Please be aware.

Sue Glover lost her son, David, to suicide. Theresa Rickerby lost a nephew. Out of the deep, heartfelt pain, the two joined together to create Tattos4Trauma. It was a way to honour him. And it was a way to help others.

In this interview, you will hear the tragic story of loss transforming into a family-oriented community event to raise money for the Northumberland Warming Room. It is a moving story.