By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Cobourg council has passed a motion urging the Province of Ontario to implement the kind of measures the British Columbia government is adopting – “providing secure, involuntary care for individuals with severe mental health and addictions challenges, as a compassionate and necessary intervention for those unable to seek help on their own.
“Involuntary care, provided with compassion and appropriate safeguards, can ensure they receive the necessary treatment to help stabilize their condition and improve community safety,” the motion said.
This comes a week after Mayor Lucas Cleveland warned Northumberland County council that, when the Brookside encampment is cleared, a sizeable number of its members will refuse help due to addiction and other intellectual issues, dispersing themselves into the town’s parks and suburbs.
The motion was a late addition to the agenda, the mayor explained, because it was formulated after he had a chance to meet with certain provincial ministers on the occasion of Premier Doug Ford’s visit to town on Monday.
Councillor Brian Darling declared himself fully supportive of the concept of involuntary care, though he tends to use the term mandatory rehab.
“Sooner or later, the government has to step up with mandatory rehab,” Darling insisted.
The word “institutionalization” does not apply, the mayor said. It’s about solutions for a small segment of the homeless population suffering from severe mental health and addiction issues.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty said she could not support the motion without “more time with this, to digest it and work on it and do some more research.”
Even without her support, however, the motion did pass.
