Video – Cobourg Police Called to County Meeting
By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Decorum was lost to the point that police had to be called to Northumberland County council’s Social Services Committee meeting Wednesday.
It began quietly with several people in the gallery waving signs in anticipation of the presentation by James Bisson on the county’s Homelessness and Encampment Response report, detailing responses to the year-long encampment at the former Brookside Youth Centre.
Committee Chair John Logel reminded those in the gallery that procedural bylaws forbid the display of signs or placards. They were asked to leave them on the table outside the door, and reminded they could engage with the committee through such channels as delegations, correspondence and petitions.
Though the committee consists of Logel, Deputy Warden Olena Hankivsky and Warden Brian Ostrander, three of the remaining four Northumberland mayors were also present (excepting only Scott Jibb of Hamilton Township).
Bisson spoke in angry, strident tones describing “what many in Cobourg consider a crisis.”
He characterized the encampment as 400 days of “crime, overdoses, rampant drug use, violence, theft, fires, drug trafficking and countless acts of civil disobedience.”
Bisson also alleged irregularities in the county’s Dec. 8 $2.3-million purchase of 310 Division St., Cobourg, to use as a homeless shelter, actions that resulted in a “predetermined outcome” and displayed a “flagrant conflict of interest” among many principals.
People began waving placards again at this point, but put them down when asked.
Bisson detailed his allegations and put forth three recommendations – launch an investigation by an arm’s-length third-party entity with the authority to hold parties accountable, have the warden step down during this investigation and initiate a comprehensive performance review regarding these actions by an outside third party chosen by a majority of county council.
Failing that, he said, “I will seek redress through official channels and conduct a public response to hold county leadership accountable.
“The anxiety is growing in our town every single day we get closer to Nov. 13,” he said, referring to what is thought to be the closing date for the sale of the Brookside property.
As placards reading “Enough is enough” began waving again and shouting erupted, Logel called a 10-minute recess.
“This is but a taste of what’s to come. We must act,” Bisson said.
Returning from recess, Logel read rules empowering the presiding officer to expel any person for improper contact at the meeting.
“This is your last warning,” he said.
Asked by Hankivsky for specifics on what documentation he has, Bisson apologized for not having quite all of it together – though he said he sent in 16 documents with his request for a delegation.
“You are more than welcome to sift through them. I have no problem being told I am wrong, that I have misinterpreted,” he said.
“I am confident in what I am saying. I can back up with documents from the county as well as public records, and I invite you all, including the public to go through and scrutinize everything I have said to your satisfaction.
“I am not the enemy here,” he said, insisting that he was “just trying to move the needle” and get the county and town working together to achieve results.
Hankivsky asked for specifics of what he would do if his demands weren’t met.
“If you choose to ignore and discredit what I am saying, I will choose my path and go to the Ombudsman or Minister of Municipal Affairs – any entity that has the ability to come in from the outside and look at what’s going on in the county,” he replied.
“What I am hoping for is reform. We need to reform at this level of government.”
The agenda proceeded to a report on the Encampment Response and Progress at 310 Division St. but, first, Logel had to call another recess because of loud voices that proved to be a protester and a police officer. When the 10-minute recess (which proved to be more like 20 minutes) ended, Logel laid down the law again.
Delaying the business of the meeting, he said, in effect delays the county being able to do what is being asked.
With a uniformed police officer clearly visible nearby, Carman gave her report.
And in the end, the committee declined to make a motion to act on Bisson’s recommendations.
